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A federal judge blocked a Florida law designed to penalize large social media companies that ban politicians over First Amendment concerns.
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle granted a preliminary injunction against Gov. Ron DeSantis s Big Tech law after NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association, which represent multiple Big Tech companies, filed a lawsuit earlier in the month. The lawsuit argued the law violates the First Amendment s free speech clause, is vague in violation of the 14th Amendment, and stands in opposition to equal protection clauses.
“The plaintiffs are likely to prevail on the merits of their claim that these statutes violate the First Amendment,” Hinkle wrote. “There is nothing that could be severed and survive.”
Kanishka Singh
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A 3D-printed Facebook logo is displayed in front of the Twitter logo, in this illustration taken October 25, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
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June 30 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Wednesday blocked a recently-enacted Florida law that was meant to authorize the state to penalize social media companies when they ban political candidates, with the judge saying the law likely violated free speech rights.
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle in Tallahassee issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the law, which was scheduled to go into effect Thursday. This order preliminarily enjoins enforcement of the parts of the legislation that are preempted or violate the First Amendment , the judge said in the order filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District Of Florida.
In a blow to conservative efforts to wrangle social media companies, a federal judge on Wednesday blocked a Florida law that would penalize firms like Facebook and Twitter for de-platforming or silencing politicians.
Scheduled to go into effect on Thursday, SB 7072 placed prohibitions on tech companies that ban or de-platform political candidates and news outlets from their services. The measure, a groundbreaking piece of legislation, saddles offenders with daily fines, opens the door to direct litigation from users, and creates an antitrust blacklist.
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle of the Northern District of Florida put the law on hold by issuing a preliminary injunction and in an order suggested the legislation would be found unconstitutional, reports
Federal judge blocks social media law
Published: June 30, 2021 9:56 PM EDT
Updated: June 30, 2021 9:59 PM EDT
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Calling it “riddled with imprecision and ambiguity,” a federal judge Wednesday blocked a new state law targeting social-media behemoths such as Facebook and Twitter that can strip politicians and other users from their platforms.
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle issued a preliminary injunction as he sided with online-industry groups NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association, which filed the lawsuit challenging the measure pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and approved by Republican lawmakers this spring.
“The legislation now at issue was an effort to rein in social-media providers deemed too large and too liberal. Balancing the exchange of ideas among private speakers is not a legitimate government interest,” Hinkle wrote in Wednesday’s 31-page order.
Federal judge blocks Florida social media law Law required social media companies to explain censorship or face fines
Dara Kam, Senior reporter, News Service of Florida
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Calling it “riddled with imprecision and ambiguity,” a federal judge Wednesday blocked a new state law targeting social-media behemoths such as Facebook and Twitter that can strip politicians and other users from their platforms.
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle issued a preliminary injunction as he sided with online industry groups NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association, which filed the lawsuit challenging the measure pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and approved by Republican lawmakers this spring.