Earlier this week, State Rep. Chip Brown (R-Hollinger’s Island) introduced legislation that would withhold state tax abatements or credits and economic incentives from companies that engage in censorship.
Brown’s HB 213 Anti-Censorship Act has 10 other co-sponsors. The language of the bill explicitly states censorship would pertain to anything outside of incitement to violence. Tech companies that allegedly engage in these practices that have an Alabama presence in part because of economic incentives include Google, Facebook and Amazon.
On Thursday, Brown appeared on Alabama Public Television’s “Capitol Journal” to offer details about his effort.
“It’s the Anti-Censorship Act,” he said. “And what it is aimed at is exactly what you said. I don’t believe that we should spend tax dollars on recruiting companies that don’t protect free speech. You’ve seen it on Twitter. You’ve seen it on Facebook and other platforms. I just think it is wrong to censor free speech, whether it be from the left, whether it be from the right — that as Americans, there is a reason the First Amendment is the First Amendment. We all should have the ability to express ourselves and say what we want to say. Now, there is a limit to that. If you’re promoting violence or inciting violence, that should not be allowed. But just because you disagree with me politically or you don’t care for what I’m saying, that shouldn’t give you the ability to censor what I’m saying, to censor the free speech, and I think as Alabamians, we shouldn’t allow our tax dollars to go to platforms that are censoring free speech.”
“[S]hould my tax dollars go to companies that are suppressing free speech?” Brown added. “I personally don’t think so.”
@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly, and host of Mobile’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on FM Talk 106.5.
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