A federal judge has blocked enforcement of a new Florida law restricting social media companies’ ability to edit and regulate content on their platforms and barring the speech of politicians.
Judge Robert Hinkle of the Northern District of Florida issued a preliminary injunction against the new law, which Gov. Ron DeSantis and other supporters said was needed to curb the power of “Big Tech” companies such as Facebook. Calling the law “viewpoint-based,” Hinkle said parts of the statute violate the businesses’ First Amendment rights.
“The legislation compels providers to host speech that violates their standards – speech they otherwise would not host – and forbids providers from speaking as they otherwise would,” he said in the June 30 opinion.
The Governor’s Office said the issue is far from resolved.
“We are disappointed by Judge Hinkle’s ruling and disagree with his determination that the U.S. Constitution protects Big Tech’s censorship of certain individuals and content over others,” Christina Pushaw, the governor’s press secretary, said in an email to the Florida Record.
State officials will be assessing their legal options to fight the preliminary injunction and will continue to defend Senate Bill 7072, which DeSantis signed into law in May, according to Pushaw.
“As Judge Hinkle seemed to indicate during (a) hearing on the preliminary injunction, this case is eventually bound for the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the appeals court will ultimately make its own decision on legal conclusions,” she said. “Gov. DeSantis continues to fight for freedom of speech and against Big Tech’s discriminatory censorship.”
Hinkle’s opinion was in response to a lawsuit filed by trade associations whose members include social media companies. NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association argued that the Florida law would have violated the companies’ free speech rights.
In his opinion, the judge pointed to how the measure imposed new requirements to some social media companies but not others.
“The legislation applies only to large providers, not otherwise-identical but smaller providers, and explicitly exempts providers under common ownership with any large Florida theme park,” Hinkle’s opinion states.
Under the law, which had been scheduled to take effect July 1, residents have the right to file civil lawsuits against social media companies for violations of the law, with damages awards reaching as much as $100,000 per claim.