Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis requested an investigation into Facebook over alleged election interference based on a news article alleging that the social media company gives preferential treatment to politicians, celebrities, professional sports, and other important individuals.
DeSantis asked Secretary of State Laurel Lee to investigate if Facebook’s tactics violated Florida election law, citing a recent Wall Street Journal story. The report went into depth on how Facebook exempts high-profile users from some or all of its policies.
DeSantis announced the inquiry on Twitter, saying he has ordered “the Florida Department of State to start an investigation into Facebook’s alleged election meddling through its whitelisting program,” adding, “Floridians need to know how much Big Tech has influenced our elections.”
According to WSJ, incumbent politicians were on the “whitelist,” while competitors in state and municipal elections were not always. This sparked fears that incumbents may be given preferential treatment. According to a Facebook spokesman, the issue has been resolved.
“If this information is correct, Facebook has placed its thumb on the scales of several state and local contests in a troubling and covert manner,” DeSantis wrote to Lee.
DeSantis has been criticizing the power of big social media firms for months.
With repeated appearances on Fox News and official events, DeSantis put the “big tech” problem in the spotlight during the legislative session. After YouTube deleted a DeSantis panel discussion with health professionals for breaking the company’s “COVID-19 medical disinformation” standards, DeSantis conducted another debate with the same experts in April.
Earlier this year, he approved legislation authorizing the state to penalize big social media platforms for deactivating a statewide politician’s account.
The law, which has been temporarily halted by a federal court, would also have allowed any Floridian to sue such corporations if they believe they have been treated unfairly if their accounts have been stopped. The state is appealing the judge’s order to halt the legislation.
