A Florida state representative called on Gov. Ron DeSantis to divest from Big Tech companies after Facebook and Twitter suspended the social media accounts of President Donald J. Trump.
Rep. Randy Fine asked DeSantis to order the “immediate divestment” of any Florida-held equity and debt of Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Apple and Alphabet (Google).
Fine said the attack of the U.S. Capitol was “one of the saddest days of my life.”
Regardless, Fine said he is “deeply disturbed” to see the major tech companies use the protest to silence “tens of millions of good, patriotic Americans.”
“No matter what one thinks about President Trump, he remains the duly-elected President of the United States until noon on Jan. 20,” Fine wrote. “If the President of the United States can be silenced by these companies, then so can anyone.”
Fine added that “it is not disputed” that Amazon, Apple and Google are “actively working to eliminate any alternative outlets where conservatives can speak freely.”
“While I do not dispute that, as private companies, it is within their rights to choose who to do business with, it is also our right as a state to determine which companies in which we wish to invest,” Fine wrote. “To be clear, you would be getting this same letter if it was liberal groups being silenced. It is unfortunate that these technologists spent so much time learning how to code that they learned so little of history.”
