Tech industry groups file lawsuit to challenge new Florida social media law
By Jim Saunders
DeSantis signs bill targeting social media censorship
Taking aim at Silicon Valley, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a measure to crack down on large social-media companies that block users from their platforms.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Describing the law as a frontal assault on the First Amendment, two online industry groups filed a federal lawsuit Thursday seeking to block a measure pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to crack down on large social-media companies.
NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association want a judge to prevent the law from taking effect July 1, contending that it is a smorgasbord of constitutional violations that would prevent companies from properly moderating content on their platforms.
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Two technology trade groups filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block a measure approved by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to crack down on large social media companies.
DeSantis, a Republican, signed the anti-Big Tech bill on Monday, aiming to reduce online censorship and prevent social media companies from removing political candidates from their platforms.
NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association, who described the law as a frontal assault on the First Amendment, sued on Thursday, asking a judge to block the measure from taking effect on July 1.
The trade groups also called the measure a smorgasbord of constitutional violations that would prevent technology companies from moderating content on their platforms.
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Tech Orgs Say New Fla. Social Media Law Limits Free Speech
Law360 (May 27, 2021, 7:21 PM EDT) Two technology industry groups on Thursday filed the first suit challenging Florida s new law prohibiting social media companies from blocking political candidates, claiming the law unconstitutionally restricts those businesses speech rights.
In a suit filed in federal court in Tallahassee, NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association said the new law infringes social media companies First Amendment rights by forcing them to carry objectionable speech and is politically motivated retaliation for the companies content moderation decisions. The act is a frontal assault on the First Amendment and an extraordinary intervention by the government in the free marketplace of ideas that.