Current:Home > ScamsAn appeals court finds Florida's social media law unconstitutional-LoTradeCoin
An appeals court finds Florida's social media law unconstitutional
View Date:2024-12-24 10:30:17
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A Florida law intended to punish social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter is an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment, a federal appeals court ruled Monday, dealing a major victory to companies who had been accused by GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis of discriminating against conservative thought.
A three-judge panel of the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously concluded that it was overreach for DeSantis and the Republican-led Florida Legislature to tell the social media companies how to conduct their work under the Constitution's free speech guarantee.
"Put simply, with minor exceptions, the government can't tell a private person or entity what to say or how to say it," said Circuit Judge Kevin Newsom, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, in the opinion. "We hold that it is substantially likely that social media companies — even the biggest ones — are private actors whose rights the First Amendment protects."
The ruling upholds a similar decision by a Florida federal district judge on the law, which was signed by DeSantis in 2021. It was part of an overall conservative effort to portray social media companies as generally liberal in outlook and hostile to ideas outside of that viewpoint, especially from the political right.
"Some of these massive, massive companies in Silicon Valley are exerting a power over our population that really has no precedent in American history," DeSantis said during a May 2021 bill-signing ceremony. "One of their major missions seems to be suppressing ideas."
The panel found that content moderation and curation is constitutionally protected
However, the appeals panel ruled that the tech companies' actions were protected, with Judge Newsom writing that Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and others are "engaged in constitutionally protected expressive activity when they moderate and curate the content that they disseminate on their platforms."
There was no immediate response to emails Monday afternoon from DeSantis' press secretary or communications director on the ruling. DeSantis is running for reelection this year and eyeing a potential run for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. He was the first governor to sign a bill like this into law, although similar ones have been proposed in other states.
One of those, in Texas, was allowed to go into effect by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the tech companies involved there are asking for emergency U.S. Supreme Court review on whether to block it. No decision on that was immediately released.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association, a nonprofit group representing tech and communications companies, said the ruling represents a victory for internet users and free speech in general — especially as it relates to potentially offensive content.
"When a digital service takes action against problematic content on its own site — whether extremism, Russian propaganda, or racism and abuse — it is exercising its own right to free expression," said CCIA President Matt Schruers in a statement.
As enacted, the law would give Florida's attorney general authority to sue companies under the state's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. It would also allow individual Floridians to sue social media companies for up to $100,000 if they feel they've been treated unfairly.
The bill targeted social media platforms that have more than 100 million monthly users, which include online giants as Twitter and Facebook. But lawmakers carved out an exception for the Walt Disney Co. and their apps by including that theme park owners wouldn't be subject to the law.
The law would require large social media companies to publish standards on how it decides to "censor, deplatform, and shadow ban."
But the appeals court rejected nearly all of the law's mandates, save for a few lesser provisions in the law.
"Social media platforms exercise editorial judgment that is inherently expressive. When platforms choose to remove users or posts, deprioritize content in viewers' feeds or search results, or sanction breaches of their community standards, they engage in First-Amendment-protected activity," Newsom wrote for the court.
veryGood! (946)
Related
- Lou Donaldson, jazz saxophonist who blended many influences, dead at 98
- Libya’s top prosecutor says 8 officials jailed as part of investigation into dams’ deadly collapse
- Horoscopes Today, September 23, 2023
- Misery Index message for Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin: Maybe troll less, coach more
- Steelers shoot for the moon ball, but will offense hold up or wilt in brutal final stretch?
- Ohio State's Ryan Day calls out Lou Holtz in passionate interview after win vs. Notre Dame
- First refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh arrive in Armenia following Azerbaijan’s military offensive
- Ohio State moves up as top five gets shuffled in latest US LBM Coaches Poll
- CFP bracket prediction: SEC adds a fifth team to field while a Big Ten unbeaten falls out
- Tentative deal reached to end the Hollywood writers strike. No deal yet for actors
Ranking
- Where is 'College GameDay' for Week 12? Location, what to know for ESPN show
- Hollywood writers reach a tentative deal with studios after nearly five month strike
- The Sweet Reason Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves Don't Want Their Kids to Tell Them Everything
- Tropical Storm Ophelia remains may cause more flooding. See its Atlantic coast aftermath.
- Hurricane-damaged Tropicana Field can be fixed for about $55M in time for 2026 season, per report
- Happy Bruce Springsteen Day! The Boss turns 74 as his home state celebrates his birthday
- U.K. to charge 5 people suspected of spying for Russia with conspiracy to conduct espionage
- France’s Macron to unveil latest plan for meeting climate-related commitments in the coming years
Recommendation
-
Flurry of contract deals come as railroads, unions see Trump’s election looming over talks
-
After summer’s extreme weather, more Americans see climate change as a culprit, AP-NORC poll shows
-
Political neophyte Stefanos Kasselakis elected new leader of Greece’s main opposition Syriza party
-
Murder charges dropped after fight to exonerate Georgia man who spent 22 years behind bars
-
Beyoncé has released lots of new products. Here's a Beyhive gift guide for the holidays
-
A mayoral race in a small city highlights the rise of Germany’s far-right AfD party
-
A fire in a commercial building south of Benin’s capital killed at least 35 people
-
Wait, who dies in 'Expendables 4'? That explosive ending explained. (Spoilers!)