Trade groups representing large social media companies such as Facebook and Twitter are suing Florida officials in federal court in a bid to overturn a new law that prohibits the companies from “deplatforming” political candidates.
NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association filed the lawsuit in the Northern District of Florida, arguing that the law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis last month infringes on their free speech, due process and equal protection rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. The defendants include state Attorney General Ashley Moody and Elections Commissioner Joni Poitier.
The new law, which is supposed to take effect in July, gives the state of Florida the power to force social media companies to make editorial decisions about content on private websites, according to the May 27 complaint. The law represents an attack on the companies’ efforts to moderate objectionable content, including pornography, propaganda unleashed by other nations and conspiracy theories that deny the Holocaust, the lawsuit states.
In signing Senate Bill 7072 into law, DeSantis said the measure would stop “big tech” censors from applying rules inconsistently and applying the leftist “Silicon Valley ideology” against Florida residents.
Moody said it’s the social media companies, not the state, that are guilty of clamping down on free speech.
“The irony of big tech invoking the First Amendment to stifle the speech of people they disagree with – on what are supposed to be open platforms – may be lost on them, but it isn’t lost in Florida,” Moody said in an email to the Florida Record. “We look forward to vigorously defending our law.”
The lawsuit also argues that companies disfavored by the state are singled out by the law, while other companies get a free pass. The law specifically exempts companies offering online services if they operate a Florida “theme park,” such as the Walt Disney Co.
In addition, a federal law, the Communications Decency Act, precludes the government from regulating the decisions of online services when it comes to restricting objectionable posts. In turn, the state law is preempted by the federal statute, according to the complaint.
The new law also creates a new private right of action that allows residents to sue social media companies for violations of the new law – to the tune of up to $100,000 in damages per claim, plus punitive damages.