Trump Calls on Red States to Take Down Big Tech for Attacking Conservatives
Rallies Republican-run states to impose 'major sanctions' on tech companies
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President Donald Trump has called on Republican-run states to take action against Big Tech companies for silencing conservatives online.
Trump blasted tech giants during his epic comeback speech at CPAC 2021 over the weekend, as he called for red state leaders to impose "major sanctions" against firms that censor conservatives.
“The time has come to break up big tech monopolies and restore fair competition,” President Trump declared.
“Republicans, conservatives must open up our platforms and repeal Section 230 liability protection.
"And if the federal government refuses to act, then every state in the Union where we have the votes, which is a lot of them, Big Tech giants like Twitter, Google, and Facebook should be punished with major sanctions whenever they silence conservative voices.
“And Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida and in Texas and other states are doing this,” Trump noted.
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“If they do what they’re doing, Florida, and that legislation will pass, and Texas and others will have tremendous power to do what’s right and what’s fair,” Trump continued.
WATCH:
TRUMP: "The time has come to break up big tech monopolies and restore fair competition."
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) February 28, 2021
He then compliments GOP governors like Ron DeSantis who have gone after big tech. #CPAC pic.twitter.com/3uhRfGP52x
President Trump was forced from social media platforms shortly before leaving office after having his accounts restricted in the run-up to the election.
He told the CPAC crowd that tech giants needed to be more accountable.
Trump accused the heads of companies such as Twitter and Facebook of acting contrary to the First Amendment and demanded that Congress take action to rein them in.
"All of the election integrity measures in the world will mean nothing if we don't have free speech," he said.
"If Republicans can be censored for speaking the truth and calling out corruption, we will not have democracy and we will only have left-wing tyranny."
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Trump has frequently accused tech companies of censorship over his removal from both Facebook and Twitter.
On Sunday, he made it clear that he will not roll over, urging that "big tech monopolies" be broken up and the might of Silicon Valley be checked.
He declared that Section 230 - a piece of internet legislation passed into law as part of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 - must be repealed.
Section 230 gives websites protection from being legally liable for the content shared by users.
