Thread by @TexasTribune

1/ Last month, Gov. Greg Abbott called Facebook’s actions "un-American" and accused it and other social media giants of silencing conservative voices.

At the same time, his office was quietly working with Facebook to build a second data center in Texas.
bit.ly/3rXAxZ5

2/ That contrast in public and private messaging highlights the dissonance some Texas GOP leaders approach the tech industry with. bit.ly/3rXAxZ5

3/ Earlier this year, the Tech Transparency Project, a technology research arm of the nonprofit group Campaign for Accountability, filed an open records request for communications between Abbott’s office and employees of certain technology companies, including Facebook.

4/ Instead of releasing the records, Abbott’s office asked Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton — who is currently involved in litigation with several technology companies — to intervene on Facebook’s behalf, according to a letter obtained through a records request.

5/ The letter argued the records would expose confidential info, including:

—Facebook is considering Texas as a site for its data center
—The project codename
—The subsidiary's name
—The names of employees working on the project
—The NDA between Abbott’s office and Facebook

6/ The director of the Tech Transparency Project said it's likely an agreement between Texas and Facebook would be "a raw deal" for taxpayers.

A similar data center in Tennessee granted Facebook $19.5 million in tax incentives for a project that would only create 100 new jobs.

7/ This would be Facebook’s second data center in Texas — the first being a $1.5 billion Fort Worth location that began construction in 2015, is expected to be completed in 2022 and employs about 150 people.
datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/facebo… via @dcdnews

8/ Abbott attended the facility’s groundbreaking in 2015, touting his efforts to bring Facebook to Texas and declaring the facility would create an "even more robust and diverse economy."

Fort Worth at the time approved a 20-year, $147 million tax-exemption deal for Facebook.

9/ The revelation that Abbott is courting Facebook comes as the #TXlege is pushing a proposal to prohibit large social media companies from blocking, banning, demonetizing or discriminating against a user based on their views or location within Texas. bit.ly/3msUMfV

10/ The Texas Senate approved the bill, authored by Sen. Bryan Hughes, last week by an 18-13 vote, but it has not had a hearing in the Texas House.

The measure would apply to anyone who lives in, does business in or even has social media followers in Texas.

11/ SB 12 would also allow the attorney general to file suit against companies that violate its provisions. It would require companies to:

—Disclose content moderation policies
—Publish quarterly reports about removed content
—Create an appeals process for removed content

12/12 Abbott joined Hughes at a news conference last month to show his support for the bill.

He singled out Facebook by name. bit.ly/3rXAxZ5