Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced yesterday the intentions to direct Florida Secretary of State, Laurel Lee, to launch an investigation into Facebook for alleged election interference. The allegations and subsequent investigation come after the Wall Street Journal published a report saying Facebook affected certain state and local races by exempting certain powerful users from their own rules.
DeSantis said he is not surprised to see a report about Facebook in this manner, but that some Florida elections might be compromised as a result of Facebook’s decisions.
“It’s no secret that Big Tech censors have long enforced their own rules inconsistently. If this new report is true, Facebook has violated Florida law to put its thumb on the scale of numerous state and local races. Floridians deserve to know how much this corporate titan has influenced our elections. That is why I am directing Secretary Lee to use all legal means to uncover violations of Florida’s election laws. The thought of Facebook clandestinely manipulating elections is an affront to the basic principles of our republic. We the people have the right to choose our representatives, whether or not Silicon Valley approves.”
DeSantis called on Lee to open the investigation by way of letter saying Facebook’s tactics establishes a “whitelist” which “effectively creates two classes of speakers on Facebook’s platform: those who are privileged and those who are not.”
“I hereby direct that your office immediately investigate this alleged election interference caused by Facebook through its whitelisting program – and any other previously undisclosed program within Facebook – in order to determine whether any violations of Florida’s election laws took place. Your office should use all legal means to uncover any such violations, including but not limited to, issuing subpoenas, conducting witness interviews, reviewing all available information and consulting with law enforcement.”
DeSantis concluded by saying Floridians deserve to know their elections are free for Big Tech companies and their agendas.
“Floridians deserve to have faith that their elections are free from Big Tech interference, and corporations like Facebook deserve to be held accountable for actions that erode the legitimacy of our institutions,” DeSantis said.
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at the Florida Capital Star and the Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
Photo “Ron DeSantis” by Gage Skidmore CC BY-SA 2.0.
