A new Florida law regulates how Facebook, Twitter, and others moderate speech, with fines for banning candidates; the law exempts companies that own theme parks

The new law, a direct response to Facebook and Twitter's suspension of former President Donald J. Trump, affects candidates for statewide offices.

New York Times 2021-05-25 David McCabe

Context & Ripple Effects

Florida moved from an announced plan to punish political “deplatforming” to an enacted rule, despite contemporaneous coverage warning of a conflict with the Constitution and Section 230. The exemption for theme-park owners makes the measure a targeted platform-governance intervention rather than a neutral rule for all online services.

The law quickly became a test case: industry groups representing Facebook, Google, and others challenged Florida’s law, and the state later asked the Supreme Court to define how far states may regulate platforms’ moderation decisions.

First-order effects

Facebook, Twitter, and other covered services face fines for banning candidates for statewide office, making political-account enforcement an immediate legal and operational risk in Florida.
Companies that own theme parks are excluded from the moderation penalties, while otherwise comparable covered platforms remain subject to them.

Second-order effects

Platform trade groups and the covered companies are pushed toward litigation rather than a single nationwide moderation-policy change, as shown by the industry challenge to the law.
Candidates for statewide office gain a state-backed basis to contest removal decisions, increasing the legal stakes around platform enforcement during campaigns.

Third-order effects

The dispute puts courts, and ultimately the Supreme Court petition described in related coverage, at the center of defining whether state governments can constrain private platforms’ editorial and access-control choices.
If states pursue comparable rules, platform moderation may become subject to a patchwork of state-specific political-account obligations rather than solely company-set policies.

The trend: Political moderation is becoming a state-level platform-governance battleground, with constitutional litigation determining the boundary of state power over private services.

Discussion

@justinamash Justin Amash on x
Giving government the power to regulate speech not only doesn't advance freedom but also violates the Constitution. Worse yet, the legislation advances cronyism by exempting big Florida companies. https://twitter.com/...
@govrondesantis Ron DeSantis on x
Florida's Big Tech Bill gives every Floridian the power to fight back against deplatforming and allows any person to sue Big Tech companies for up to $100,000 in damages. Today, we level the playing field between celebrity and citizen on social media. https://www.flgov.com/...
@radleybalko Radley Balko on x
There are many things you could call policy that forces private companies to allow political leaders to use their platforms at any time, for any reason, with no moderation, no matter how repugnant or dangerous their message. But it is not “free speech.” https://www.nytimes.com/..…
@justinamash Justin Amash on x
When you're so serious about going after “corporate censorship” that you exempt Disney and Comcast from the law... https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@birnbaum_e Emily Birnbaum on x
Facebook is calling for a digital platform agency to regulate them, which some former/current Democratic officials support. But FB's stance lends credence to progressives who argue such an agency would be subject to immediate capture by the big tech companies. https://twitter.com…
@carl_hiaasen Carl Hiaasen on x
DeSantis signs ‘Big Tech’ bill with new speech rules for Twitter, Facebook https://www.miamiherald.com/ ... This joke of a law will get crushed in the courts, and DeSantis will stick Fla. taxpayers with the legal bill. A page straight from Rick Scott's old playbook
@joyannreid Joy-Ann on x
This bill for now is purely performative. As much as he might want to, @RonDeSantisFL can't dictate who @twitter, @Facebook or any other private company allows on their platforms. But this bill is a calling card for the kind of autocracy Trump and his acolytes like DeSantis want.…
@agashleymoody AG Ashley Moody on x
TY, @GovRonDeSantis, for providing Floridians the ability to push back against Big Tech censorship. This new law comes as my office continues to work diligently to ensure a free and fair marketplace. https://twitter.com/...
@goldengateblond Shauna on x
if facebook opens a theme park one of the rides has to be just a long line where you get to dunk on zuckerberg https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
Twitter banning a politician for spreading misinformation is now illegal in Florida. And yet people complain that big tech isn't regulated. 🙃 https://www.nbcnews.com/...
@annaforflorida Rep. Anna V. Eskamani on x
Remember that this bill has a carveout for any company that owns a theme park too. An unconstitutional joke of a bill. https://twitter.com/...
@barronjohn1946 John Barron on x
FACEBOOK NEEDS TO BE RAINED IN! VERY DANGEROUS COMPANY! Also my Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/...
@justinbaragona Justin Baragona on x
Gotta admire the shamelessness. “A late amendment to the bill exempts companies from the law if they own a theme park or an entertainment venue larger than 25 acres. That means the law is unlikely to apply to websites owned by Disney...” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@rmac18 @rmac18 on x
Welcome to ZuckLand
@samstein Sam Stein on x
does News Corp own theme parks? https://twitter.com/...
@armandondk Armando on x
The New York Times might mention the fact this violates the First Amendment. https://twitter.com/...
@siliconlaw Amy Miller on x
This shouldn't clog up Florida courts with nuisance litigation at all. #lawofunintendedconsequences https://twitter.com/...
@peterzeihan Peter Zeihan on x
Obviously, hilariously unconstitutional. But still a good thing! The law clashes w section 230 of the telecoms act, which regulates the internet. This starts us down the road of finally updating our Infotech laws for the existence of social media. https://www.theverge.com/...
@nberlat Noah Berlatsky on x
yeah, forcing venues to publish political propaganda is pretty much exactly what the first amendment was intended to prevent. Florida is using the power of the state to force publisher's to take a particular editorial line. pretty clear first amendment violation. https://twitter.…
@davmicrot David Rothschild on x
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/ ... Law forces platforms to amplify whatever a candidate wants “Republican state Rep. Randy Fine, who voted for the bill, warned about the prospect of people filing paperwork to become candidates just to be able to spout racist or anti-Semitic vie…
@hannahgais Hannah Gais on x
very excited for Facebook and Twitter's 26-acre theme parks https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@brfreed Benjamin Freed on x
Congratulations to the real winners: Facebook and Twitter, who will be allowed to recoup their hefty outside counsel fees from Florida taxpayers when a judge chucks this law 18 to 24 months from now. https://twitter.com/...
@aayoub Abed A. Ayoub on x
@donie Let's see what happens when Tech companies voluntarily de-platform themselves out of the state.
@scalzi John Scalzi on x
Today in “blatantly unconstitutional law made because the GOP has hurt widdle fe-fes that private companies won't tolerate their bigoted, dangerous bullshit” https://www.theverge.com/...
@jaredlholt Jared Holt on x
Lmfao it does what now? Sounds like someone got a call from an angry lobbyist, if I had my guess https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@mrddmia @mrddmia on x
Amen. @GovRonDeSantis is punching back against woke Big Tech monopolists — @Google, @amazon, @Facebook, @Apple, and @Twitter — that are the leading proponents, enablers, and enforcers of censorship and #CancelCulture. A critical fight for us at both @UnsilencedOrg and @The_IAP. h…
@thebaxterbean @thebaxterbean on x
literally how fascism works https://twitter.com/...
@themaxburns Max Burns on x
In my experience in public policy communications at Facebook, the company never proposed creating or joining a committee it couldn't easily control. https://twitter.com/...
@donie Donie O'Sullivan on x
Any Florida resident that this might apply too, I wonder........ “The legislation also gives Florida residents the ability to sue tech companies for de-platforming” https://www.cnn.com/...
@blackamazon @blackamazon on x
Awesome way for Facebook to avoid dealing with all its own internal biases and years of avoiding responsibility!!! After its erased and undermined most of the important work https://twitter.com/...
@scott_maxwell Scott Maxwell on x
People are often too cavalier with the word “unconstitutional.” You can dislike a new law. That doesn't make it unconstitutional. This, however, is clearly unconstitutional. Even staff analysts raised flags. You can't force private companies to spread lies, obscenity or filth. ht…
@tomaskenn Thomas Kennedy on x
This bill is unconstitutional and will prompt yet another lawsuit against the state. It also carves out companies that own a theme park, because if you are a wealthy company in pay to play Florida, the rules don't apply to you. https://twitter.com/...
@silvermanjacob Jacob Silverman on x
Whenever someone talks about “saving the open internet” I reach for my revolver. https://newrepublic.com/...
@scout_finch Jennifer Hayden on x
Remember when Republicans used to claim they were for small government? They really seem to enjoy telling private companies what to do. https://twitter.com/...
@jaredlholt Jared Holt on x
This bill is ludicrous on its face and a cynical ploy to lick the boots of the former president, not to mention it seems likely to get spiked by a court somewhere along the line. But it sure is fun to imagine social media sites rushing to build theme parks.
@jeffreyasachs Jeffrey Sachs on x
What a thing to see so many state governments lurch so harshly against free speech. https://twitter.com/...
@walshfreedom Joe Walsh on x
Today's Republican Party: Whine about being a victim, use government to dictate how private companies should enforce their own rules, embrace authoritarianism, and attack the First Amendment. https://twitter.com/...
@blaine Blaine Cook on x
THIS. No, really. I've been on the fence for a long time about whether regulation for digital networks makes sense (vs breaking them up, etc), mostly because regulation at this point *means* regulatory capture by the incumbents. https://twitter.com/...
@cliffordlevy Cliff Levy on x
“Protection against the Silicon Valley elites.” Florida, under Gov. DeSantis, became the first state to impose fines on social media companies that permanently bar political candidates. The law is a response to Facebook's and Twitter's bans of Trump. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@jj_talking Joni Job on x
Sooooooooo..... Trump is a resident of Florida🌞 Could he Sue Facebook, Twitter etal for de-platforming him? 👀👀👀 #Epic https://twitter.com/...
@skupor Scott Kupor on x
“Floridians would be ‘guaranteed protection against the Silicon Valley elites.’” Seems like @rabois is getting more actively involved in state-wide FL politics :) https://www.nytimes.com/...
@elizabeth_joh Elizabeth Joh on x
Fining companies for exercising their speech rights cool cool https://twitter.com/...
@cfarivar Cyrus Farivar on x
There's no way that this gets upheld in court. https://twitter.com/...
@jamestitcomb James Titcomb on x
Social media execs rapidly brainstorming theme park ideas Facebook: The algorithm that arranges seating for the log flume puts you next to your high school ex and their three kids Twitter: You take a wrong turn in the haunted house and 50 people try to get you fired https://twitt…
@peterschorschfl Peter Schorsch on x
Good luck, Floridians, suing the wealthiest, most powerful companies in the world. Trial lawyers, I'm sure, will be tackling each other for the chance to take you're case! https://twitter.com/...
@timothybucksf Timothy Buck on x
Republicans in Florida misuse their power in blatant attack on the first amendment https://twitter.com/...
@imkialikethecar Kia K. on x
so excited to attend the next F8 at FaceWorld.... https://twitter.com/...
@electproject Michael McDonald on x
Welcome to Twitter World! https://twitter.com/...
@bluespacecanary @bluespacecanary on x
ah yes, the classic “the Disney Corporation has purchased itself a state government” exception https://twitter.com/...
@darth @darth on x
ok @jack pls buy childrens fairyland @fairylandca and maintain its charm u can do this https://twitter.com/...
@netchoice @netchoice on x
“If this law could somehow be enforced, it would allow lawful but awful user posts including pornography, violence, and hate speech that will make it harder for families to safely navigate online.”— @CarlSzabo https://www.theverge.com/...
@cebsilver @cebsilver on x
This is such a pointed and restrictive piece of action. It only really applies to politicians, yet DeSantis claims it's for Floridians. Such bullshit. Also, how hard would it be for FB to buy 25 acres & call it a theme park? FB and Twitter should do that. https://www.nytimes.com/…
@nytimesbusiness @nytimesbusiness on x
Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida has signed a law he said guaranteed state residents “protection against the Silicon Valley elites.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@johnpaczkowski John Paczkowski on x
“Big Tech is prohibited from de-platforming Floridian political candidates. The Florida Election Commission will impose fines of $250,000 per day on any social media company that de-platforms any candidate for statewide office” https://twitter.com/...
@caitlin__kelly Caitlin Kelly on x
“This law looks like a political freebie...You get to pander, and nothing bad happens, because there's no chance this will survive in court.” @GiladEdelman talked to some folks about Florida's new social media law and uh, they are not impressed! https://www.wired.com/...
@caitlin__kelly Caitlin Kelly on x
@GiladEdelman this story does not even go into the bill's carveout for companies that run theme parks (lmao). that did not stop be from thinking, “what if facebook was moved to open an amusement park” all day 🤡
@giladedelman Gilad Edelman on x
“This is so obviously unconstitutional, you wouldn't even put it on an exam.” https://www.wired.com/...
@giladedelman Gilad Edelman on x
@patrick_hruby @caitlin__kelly Indeed! “Florida's new social media law could be a nice little bullet point on his resume. Ultimately, though, it's just another piece of content.”
@patrick_hruby Patrick Hruby on x
@caitlin__kelly @GiladEdelman Governance as content creation imo

Chronicles