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Utah Gov. Spencer Cox vetoed a bill on Tuesday that sought to limit perceived censorship by social media companies like Facebook and Twitter.

Senate Bill 228, which narrowly passed during this years legislative general session, would have required social media companies to provide clear information about the social corporations moderation practices and created an opportunity for a Utah account holder to appeal certain moderation practices that the social media corporation employs on a Utah account holders account or post, according to a summary of the bill.

What this does is it deals with free speech. I think our free speech rights have been infringed by some large tech folks and I think thats a problem, Republican Spanish Fork Sen. Mike McKell, the bills sponsor, told lawmakers on March 1. And I think what weve got is a good bill to create a process to create transparency; thats what this bill does.

In a press release, the governors office said Cox had vetoed the bill, his first veto since taking office in January, due to technical issues with the legislation and after speaking with legislative leadership.

The press release noted that censorship by tech companies is a serious concern and that the veto will not hinder nor prevent Utah from finding the right policy solution.

The sponsors of this bill have raised valid questions about the impact social media platforms can have on public discourse and debate, Cox said. Our country continues to grapple with very real and novel issues around freedom of speech, the rights of private companies and the toxic divisiveness caused by these new forms of connection, information and communication. While I have serious concerns about the bill, I appreciate the willingness of the bills sponsors to continue to seek a better solution.

Lawmakers considered the bill following cries at the national level of liberal bias among social media company executives and censorship of conservative posts and accounts.

Not very many things infuriate me more than to see blatant censorship, especially when its one-sided, Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, told his colleagues on Feb. 26 while speaking in support of the bill. And I can cite 10 examples from the last six months.

But other state lawmakers said the bill raised questions of constitutionality, including Sen. Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake City, who said he had real concerns and believed social media platforms should be able to make the same editorial judgments as newspapers, TV stations and other forms of media.

They make that decision, Davis said. And these (social) media companies are no different, I dont believe, than our general media is.

Sen. Kathleen Riebe, D-Cottonwood Heights, said the bill is completely unenforceable and has no parameters.

I dont understand how this is actually going to work, said Riebe. So unless we can enforce something, I really dont think we should be passing laws.

S.B. 228 passed 21-6 in the Senate on March 1 and 39-35 in the House on March 4.

In the press release, McKell said he intends to open a new bill on May 5 to address the censorship issues.

Censorship practices are un-American and likely unconstitutional, he said. In Utah, we defend the right to freely express opinions and views, regardless of political or religious affiliation.

The Spanish Fork senator continued, The outcome of S.B. 228 is not ideal; however, the issue of free speech and online censorship remains a priority and policy will continue to be refined throughout the interim.

Connor Richards covers government, the environment and south Utah County for the Daily Herald. He can be reached at crichards@heraldextra.com and 801-344-2599.

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Utah governor vetoes bill limiting perceived social media censorship - Daily Herald