Federal judge blocks Florida law that limited content control powers of social media companies

On June 30, 2021, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking a Florida social media regulation from taking effect. The law aimed to combat the perceived censorship of conservatives on social media platforms by fining companies that suspended the accounts of political candidates.

Key Player

Republican Ron DeSantis, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, was elected governor of Florida in 2019. This legislation was a “top priority” for DeSantis, according to Politico. 

Further Details

Following Trump’s suspension on numerous social media platforms in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Republican lawmakers in Florida drafted a bill designed to curtail the power of tech giants to restrict speech on their platforms, a power the legislators believed was disproportionately exercised against conservatives, The New York Times reported.

The law would have fined social media companies $250,000 a day for blocking a candidate for statewide office, and $25,000 dollars a day for blocking a candidate in a local election, Bloomberg reported. In addition, the policy enabled both private citizens and the state government to sue platforms if they believed the law had been violated. Platforms could only be fined if they had users in Florida and had upwards of 100 million monthly active users globally or made more than $100 million in annual revenue, according to Vox. Social media platforms owned by companies that operate a large theme park in the state, however, were exempted from the fines. 

The bill moved quickly through the Republican-controlled state legislature, and DeSantis signed it into law in May 2021; the policy was scheduled to take effect July 1, Vox reported.

Two industry lobbying groups, NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), which represent the social media companies including Facebook and Google, filed suit to prevent the law from going into effect, according to Politico. They argued it violated the companies’ First Amendment rights by interfering with their editorial judgment and effectively prohibiting and compelling certain speech, Bloomberg reported. They also claimed that the companies had a right to content regulation under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, a federal law that, in part, allows online corporations and platforms to moderate objectionable content as they see fit without fear of legal repercussions, Vox reported.

Outcome 

Citing First Amendment concerns, federal judge sinks social media law 

On June 30, 2021, a day before the law was due to take effect, Judge Robert Hinkle of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida issued a preliminary injunction, stopping the regulation in its tracks, pending an appeal, according to The Times.

In his decision, Hinkle likened the law to “burning the house to roast a pig,” suggesting that it would likely later be found to be unconstitutional. “The plaintiffs are likely to prevail on the merits of their claim that these statutes violate the First Amendment,” Hinkle wrote in his opinion. “There is nothing that could be severed and survive.”

Hinkle criticized the law, saying that it was shoddily written and motivated by a sense of retribution toward Big Tech firms, The Washington Post reported.“The legislation now at issue was an effort to rein in social-media providers deemed too large and too liberal,” Hinkle concluded. “Balancing the exchange of ideas among private speakers is not a legitimate governmental interest.”

Both NetChoice and CCIA celebrated the court’s order. NetChoice president Steve DelBianco said in a statement that the judge’s order allowed platforms to keep their users “safe from the worst content posted by irresponsible users,” Politico reported.

DeSantis vows to appeal

Immediately following Hinkle’s verdict, DeSantis’s office issued a statement, saying he was “disappointed” by the ruling and “disagree[d] with {the judge’s) determination that the U.S. Constitution protects Big Tech’s censorship of certain individuals and content over others,” The Post reported.

To remedy the perceived injustice, DeSantis’ office said it would appeal the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, according to The Post.