TX Gov Courts “Un-American” FB To Build Data Center

The Texas Tribune reports:

Last month, Gov. Greg Abbott blasted the actions of Facebook as “un-American [and] un-Texan,” accusing it and other social media giants of spearheading a “dangerous movement to silence conservative voices.” At the same time, his office was working quietly with the company with the hope that it will soon build a second data center in the state, according to documents provided to The Texas Tribune by the Tech Transparency Project.

That contrast in public and private messaging highlights the dissonance with which some Texas GOP leaders approach the tech industry. Abbott and other state officials have engaged in a coordinated line of attack against the companies, publicly lambasting them and pushing for laws to address what they perceive as liberal biases. At the same time, state leaders have privately courted them and publicly bragged about the thousands of jobs they have created here.

Read the full article.

We are working with Sen. Hughes on legislation to prevent social media providers like Facebook & Twitter from cancelling conservative speech.https://t.co/7uo9sO0X9L via @wfaa

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) February 7, 2021

Gov. Greg Abbott publicly slammed Facebook. Privately, he’s courting the social media giant to build a second data center in Texas. https://t.co/26mpXQfpgv

— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) April 5, 2021