New Louisiana Bill Would Free You to Sue Companies like Facebook
The 2020 presidential election was an eye-opener in a lot of ways. As far as social media goes, the level of conspiracy theories and "fake news" was at an all-time high. If you remember, platforms like Facebook starting removing posts like that (and, in some cases, entire accounts) by the thousands. While I think we call all agree that those particular posts didn't make the already volatile situation better, It's pretty obvious that quite a few people who were simply voicing their opinion were grouped in with them.
If you're thinking that this is a blatant violation of these folks' first amendment rights - you're wrong. Companies like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the like aren't bound by those rules because they aren't considered a publisher. Because of that little fact, they are protected by federal law under Section 230. Basically, those companies have complete discretion to remove content, block, or outright ban any content or any user for any reason. It may seem unfair, but it's totally legal.
According to KLPC, all of that may change thanks to republican Senator from West Monroe John C. Morris. His proposed bill would basically open the door for anyone to sue any social media company for removing their posts or deleting their account "if they are censored for any political or religious speech."
This particular piece of legislation isn't a law yet, but it has reportedly cleared a major hurdle. It has already passed in the House of Representatives, now it will move on the senate for consideration.