Des Moines Sun

As citizens across the nation are growing increasingly concerned about the size of technology companies and the influence they exert over the government, several state legislatures are taking action to limit the power of social media giants.

A majority of Americans, 56%, believe that major technology companies should be more heavily regulated than they currently are, compared to 47% of Americans in 2020 and 51% in 2018, according to a recent study by Pew Research Center. The study also found that 68% believe that major technology companies have more power and influence than they should. 

Another study published last year by Pew Research Center found that most Americans believe social media sites attempt to censor political viewpoints. The study found that, 73% of Americans believe that it is very likely, 37%, or somewhat likely, 36%, that social media tech companies are intentionally censoring opinions they disagree with. Only 25% of Americans believe this is not likely. Of Republicans, 90% believe it likely that social media sites censor viewpoints.

The Des Moines Register reports that the Iowa Senate has passed a bill — SF 580 — which would revoke big tech tax credits and contracts with the government from any tech giants that restrict certain types of speech within their media platform. Any constitutional and free expression that is not criminal, obscene, violent, pornographic or someone else’s intellectual property cannot be censored, lest tax credits be revoked.

"We have a bill before us that sends a message to these big tech companies that Iowans will no longer foot the bill for their feckless disregard of our Constitutional rights — the right to have freedom of speech, one of the most basic principles of this great republic," State Sen. Jake Chapman (R-Adel), one the co-sponsors of the bill, said, according to Des Moines Register.

In Wisconsin, State Sen. Julian Bradley (R-Milwaukee) has introduced a bill — LRB 337/1 — which would compel technology companies to reveal their algorithms and outline the reasoning for who gets censored and who can post freely on Facebook and Twitter, The Center Square reported.

"It's time to ensure that Mark Zuckerberg and his Silicon Valley liberal allies cannot restrict Wisconsinites' political speech," Bradley said, according to The Center Square. "Free expression is one of the most vital components of our democratic republic. We must ensure our citizens can engage in political speech unfiltered and uncensored by Big Tech. It's time for Facebook and Twitter to consistently and fairly enforce their own rules."

The recent study by Pew Research Center found that Americans who have heard more about debates regarding the regulation of tech companies are far more likely to support regulations against big tech than less informed individuals — 69% vs. 42%.

The biggest jump in support for more regulation was among liberal Democrats which jumped from 52% to 70% since last year. 

Moderate or liberal Republicans were the only groups that showed no statistically significant increase in support for more regulations.