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A Florida lawmaker is warning that what he considers a government “snitch site” could be used as a cudgel against small business in phase one of reopening the state’s economy as it recovers from COVID-19.

GOP State Rep. Anthony Sabatini insists that the Department of Business and Professional Regulation website could be “weaponized by people with ill-motives in order to harm small businesses,” he explained on Twitter.

“At a time when we should be pushing for a return to normalcy, government is finding new ways to criminalize our neighbors by expanding the police state,” he declared on Twitter.

The website contains a complaint form that allows anyone to lodge a detailed accusation with the government agency against any allegedly non-compliant business.

This complaint procedure could conceivably give the misguided or opportunistic  “Karens” of the world free rein to undermine Florida’s efforts to get back on its feet.

Business owners could face government sanctions by failing to abide by social distancing guidelines or occupancy limitations.

In terms of the overall state response, and contrary to initial criticism from one-size-fits-all liberal fear-mongers, Gov. Ron DeSantis is  receiving high marks for the way he has handled the coronavirus response by focusing on Florida’s at-risk population such as the elderly in nursing homes.

A snitch site that will be weaponized by people with ill-motives in order to harm small businesses.
At a time when we should be pushing for a return to normalcy, government is finding new ways to criminalize our neighbors by expanding the police state.https://t.co/cwcXQFs8Wo

— Rep. Anthony Sabatini (@AnthonySabatini) May 8, 2020

Sabatini, an attorney, represents District 32 in the Lake County area in central Florida and also serves as a captain in the Army National Guard.

He went on to say on Twitter that the “Pre-existing site was for valid complaints—but this new site is titled and specifically tailored for the government-enforcement of the lockdown…It outlines each executive order and categorizes the complaints. It will encourage harassment and more police state.”

Here’s a sampling of the social media response to Sabatini’s warning:

All “Karen’s” will come out in force. We don’t need already unhappy people now having State sponsored technology to assist them in their quest.

— River Flint (@RiverFlint) May 9, 2020

This falls under the Governors authority. We need to flood his office w calls. DBPR is power hungry and they no doubt will start suspending and revoking valid licenses if this goes unchecked. Very scary power grab

— A Patriot 🇺🇸 (@REORealtor) May 8, 2020

Is this really necessary? At this point, evidence shows that #CCPVirus is about as dangerous as the flu – mostly attacking older and sicker people.

Regardless, we cannot let our farms, factories, logistics and stores fail. We have to move forward, not cower.

— Trump 2020 (@tomvail_tv) May 8, 2020

This is ridiculous! Offers unscrupulous owner new way to deal with their competion.

— Linda Hale 🇺🇸⭐🇺🇸 Deplorable (@LindaHale8006) May 8, 2020

Terrible. When did America become a country of tattle tales?

— Trump ⭐️Trump ⭐️Trump⭐️ (@Geoclewis) May 8, 2020

Separately, in Texas, billionaire Mark Cuban, the Dallas Mavericks owner and star of ABC’s Shark Tank has unleashed an army of Karens.

These secret shoppers function in effect as coronavirus compliance police, to snitch on Dallas businesses who may or mot be abiding by the required government social distancing protocols or other regulations as Texas also incrementally opens its economy. Big Brother (or Big Sister) is watching, but Orwell probably never anticipated that the private sector would fund Big Brother.

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Robert Jonathan

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Robert Jonathan is a staff writer for BizPac Review. He is a longtime writer/editor for news aggregation websites and has also developed content in the legal and financial publishing sectors as well as for online education. He earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Connecticut School of Law, “a law school the basketball teams can be proud of.”

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