Federal judge blocks Florida law regulating how tech companies moderate speech

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked a Florida law set to go into effect on Thursday that would fine social media companies that ban political candidates for violating their rules of conduct.

The law, signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in May, was passed in response to social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook banning and suspending former President Donald Trump for his comments amid the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Almost immediately after DeSantis signed the law, the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), which represents Google, Amazon, and Facebook, filed a suit to block it.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

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.