New Florida law regulates how tech companies moderate speech


In response to Facebook and Twitter suspending former President Donald Trump from their platforms, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Monday signed a law that fines social media companies that permanently ban political candidates in the state and makes it easier for Floridians to sue the businesses.
This is the first state law that regulates how a tech company moderates speech, and a legal challenge is expected. DeSantis, a Trump supporter, said in a statement that with this new law, "if Big Tech censors enforce rules inconsistently, to discriminate in favor of the dominant Silicon Valley ideology, they will now be held accountable."
The law makes it illegal for a social media company to ban any candidate for state office for more than 14 days, tacking on a $250,000 daily fine, and they must now also clearly state why they decide to remove or leave up content. There is an exception: The law does not apply to companies that own a theme park or entertainment venue larger than 25 acres. Florida is home to Walt Disney World, owned by Disney, and Comcast's Universal Orlando Resort.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Democrats, Libertarians, and tech groups are pushing back, The New York Times reports, arguing that the law violates the companies' First Amendment rights. "It's the government telling private entities how to speak," Carl Szabo, vice president of the trade association NetChoice, told the Times. "In general, it's a gross misreading of the First Amendment."
Trump was suspended from multiple social media platforms in the wake of the Capitol insurrection, and the National Conference of State Legislatures says that so far this year, more than 100 bills have been introduced nationwide targeting how social media companies moderate users. In most cases, nothing came of the bill, but there is a proposal now being debated in Texas, the Times reports.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Trump's federal return-to-office mandate descends into chaos
In the Spotlight Was the administration unprepared, or was it a tactic to drive employees to quit?
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Music review: Japanese Breakfast, Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco, and Steve Reich
Feature "For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women)," "I Said I Love You First," "Collected Works"
By The Week US Published
-
Smithsonian under fire: Trump orders an ideological purge
Review The president has issued an executive order to control Smithsonian exhibits and restore removed statues linked to slavery
By The Week US Published
-
Test flight of orbital rocket from Europe explodes
Speed Read Isar Aerospace conducted the first test flight of the Spectrum orbital rocket, which crashed after takeoff
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
What does an ex-executive's new memoir reveal about Meta's free speech pivot?
Today's Big Question 'Careless People' says Facebook was ready to do China censorship
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
What's Mark Zuckerberg's net worth?
In Depth The Meta magnate's products are a part of billions of lives
By David Faris Last updated
-
Apple pledges $500B in US spending over 4 years
Speed Read This is a win for Trump, who has pushed to move manufacturing back to the US
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Microsoft unveils quantum computing breakthrough
Speed Read Researchers say this advance could lead to faster and more powerful computers
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
TikTok's fate uncertain as weekend deadline looms
Speed Read The popular app is set to be banned in the U.S. starting Sunday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Appeals court kills FCC net neutrality rule
Speed Read A U.S. appeals court blocked Biden's effort to restore net-neutrality rules
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Judge rejects Elon Musk's $56B pay package again
Speed Read Judge Kathaleen McCormick upheld her rejection of the Tesla CEO's unprecedented compensation deal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published