Gov. Ron DeSantis unveils new legislation to combat Big Tech

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has unveiled another piece of legislation in a new offensive against Big Tech.

The Transparency in Technology Act, DeSantis said at a press conference Monday, will “check the growing power and influence of big tech” from the Sunshine State and allow Floridians to “reclaim their privacy.”

“We’re going to shift the balance of power back to consumers and away from Big Tech, because Floridians are no longer going to be dictated to by those…companies,” the GOP governor said, “We’re going to have a more balanced approach where consumers can, in part, control their most sensitive data.”

The act, should it pass through the state House and Senate, would force tech platforms to disclose what data they have on Floridians to those users and delete that information if requested.

The law would also ask companies not to sell the data and creates legal avenues to sue for noncompliance.

Whether one state will be able to regulate such massive companies that operate on a global scale remains to be seen — likely in a court of law.

Still, DeSantis stood by the legislation and its ability to stand up in court, saying Monday, “They operate in the state of Florida. What’s the difference in terms of how a rental car would be treated in California versus here?”

Earlier this month, DeSantis unveiled a proposal cracking down on social media companies themselves. This legislation is the sequel.

The first round of legislation would enact an $100,000 daily fine to any platform found to be de-platforming political figures and candidates for office.

“Today they may come after someone who looks like me. Tomorrow they may come after someone who looks like you,” the Florida Republican said, noting that the issue eschews typical political divides.

At the time, he singled out Twitter for its suspension of then-President Trump’s account “due to the risk of further incitement of violence” after Jan. 6’s Capitol riots.

As an example of big tech intervening to block information they disagreed with, Desantis mentioned The Post story last year about Hunter Biden’s foreign dealings blocked by Twitter.