DeSantis takes aim at Big Tech, social media

TALLAHASSEE — As Florida’s coronavirus death count continued to rise Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis was in Texas telling a conservative group that Big Tech censorship of conservatives was “probably the most important legislative issue that we’re going to have to get right this year.”

A few hours earlier, DeSantis’ Division of Emergency Management Director, Jared Moskowitz, was telling lawmakers in Tallahassee that “more people are going to get sick and more people are going to die” even as the COVID-19 vaccine gets disseminated.

The emphasis on social media censorship played into Democrats’ criticism of DeSantis, who say he’s more concerned with red-meat conservative issues than the material needs of citizens hit hard by the pandemic.

DeSantis said he was particularly concerned with Parler, an alternative to Twitter pushed by conservatives that was kicked off Amazon servers because it refused to take down violent threats against public officials, Blacks, Jews and police officers.

“Some shutdown app is his ‘most important issue we’re going to have to get right?’ ” said Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, a Democrat. “That makes crystal clear what his priorities are — and it’s not Floridians.”

Democrats have been critical of DeSantis’ priorities even before his trip to Texas.

Before Thursday, he had named cracking down on violent protests and protecting businesses from litigation related to the virus as his top two legislative issues, even as more than 650,000 Floridians remain out of work, up to 40,000 face eviction and more than

1.3 million residents were newly added to welfare programs.

“Our constituents need jobs, they need unemployment benefits — the food lines are around the block,” said Sen. Perry Thurston, D-Fort Lauderdale, while slamming DeSantis’ push for increased penalties for rioters. “People need help, and we’re looking at trying to stroke the ego of a president who has shown he’s not even wanted by his own party.”

DeSantis’ remarks came in a

40-minute speech to the Texas Public Policy Foundation outside Austin and included a lengthy defense of how he’s handled the pandemic, declaring Florida has done better than other states that have imposed more restrictive policies on restaurants, bars and schools.

“Florida is open. Our schools are open,” DeSantis said. “We have no restrictions and mandates from the state of Florida whatsoever.”

Republican legislative leaders have largely backed DeSantis’ handling of the pandemic and the economy, refusing to hold a special session to address a backlogged unemployment compensation system and allowing him to spend federal CARES Act money without legislative approval.

House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, and Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, have publicly backed the rioting and litigation measures but haven’t placed as much emphasis on preventing evictions or fixing the unemployment system.

But DeSantis and his fellow Republicans have said COVID19 liability protection is needed legislation to ensure businesses can rehire without worrying about lawsuit costs, something they deem essential for the state’s economy to rebound quickly.

Florida’s tourism-reliant economy took a deep hit when the pandemic struck, but its jobless rate has rebounded to 6.5% as of November from a high of 14.5% in May.

Signs are still bleak, however, as new applications for unemployment benefits for the week ending Jan. 9 jumped to 75,444, more than triple the 24,697 from the week prior.

“I’m not going to rest until every senior that wants a shot gets a shot.”

Florida’s unemployment system was overwhelmed at the start of the pandemic last March, leading to delays for millions seeking benefits and calls from Democrats to overhaul it and change the law to boost payments above the $275 per week maximum, one of the lowest in the country.

Rep. Anna Eskamani unveiled a bill this week to increase the maximum amount to $500 per week and impose more oversight on the system, but legislative leaders have shown more interest in making sure CONNECT, the state’s unemployment payment system, works than in increasing benefits.

“It’s a disconnection between everyday people,” Eskamani, D-Orlando, said of GOP leadership’s priorities.

But she still holds out hope that parts of her bill will advance in the Legislature.

One bill that is advancing is HB 7, which protects businesses from liability related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was the first bill to pass through a committee this week, as the House Civil Justice and Property Rights Subcommittee approved it

11-6 along partisan lines, with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed.

Clearing an early committee hurdle is often a sign a bill is being fast-tracked and could pass early in the session.

DeSantis’ administration, though, is not unaware of the dire circumstances faced by many Floridians.

Department of Children and Families Secretary Chad Poppell told lawmakers this week about the strain faced by the state’s safety net because of the pandemic, with 1.3 million new welfare recipients and

40,000 evictions that could go through if the federal moratorium on evictions isn’t extended.

“That’s a problem. That’s a lot of people that need help,” Poppell said. “That is real. We’re feeling the volume of that every day at the agency.”

DeSantis has pointed

Gov. Ron DeSantis

to his handling of the pandemic to show how the state is rebounding and its economy is coming back.

After shutting down bars, restaurants and schools early on, DeSantis changed course and began rolling back restrictions and has pushed back on critics who favor a more cautious approach to slow the spread of the virus.

He released a video Friday boasting of the more than 849,317 people who’ve received the first dose of the vaccine in the state, with more than 500,000 of them 65 or older.

“Florida’s home to 4.5 million seniors, and I’m not going to rest until every senior that wants a shot gets a shot,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis