A group of tech industry, civil society, and libertarian organizations filed two legal briefs Friday opposing a controversial Florida anti-censorship social media law.
The briefs argue that the anti-Big Tech law, which Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed at the end of May, harms consumers by stopping online providers from creating healthy online communities, restricts Floridians’ expression, and puts domestic violence and cyberstalking victims at risk of serious harm.
A group of nine tech industry and civil society organizations, including the National Black Justice Coalition and the Chamber of Progress, filed one legal amicus brief against the law, S.B. 7072, while TechFreedom, a libertarian-leaning tech policy think tank, filed the other.
The briefs are in support of a federal lawsuit filed last month by two technology trade groups that seek to block the law.
The groups said in their briefs that the law, which is scheduled to go into effect on July 1, would increase online harassment, disinformation, and incendiary online content.
TECH TRADE GROUPS SUE TO BLOCK FLORIDA LAW THAT WOULD BAR SOCIAL MEDIA FROM BANNING POLITICIANS
“The Act will irreparably harm consumers by depriving them of the protections that they have come to expect as part of their online experiences, making them vulnerable to malicious and harmful actors and content, and denying them the healthy online environment that is essential to performing myriad tasks of everyday life from work to school to staying in touch with family and friends,” the tech industry and civil society organizations wrote.
The legislation, which DeSantis called “Florida’s Big Tech Bill,” would make it illegal to ban state political candidates from Facebook and Twitter and would dole out penalties of $250,000 a day to social media companies for removing any statewide candidate from their platform. De-platforming local candidates would incur a fee of $25,000 a day.
The bill also forces social media giants to give users notice seven days before they are likely to be banned and give them a chance to change their behavior and resolve the issue on the platform.
TechFreedom told the Washington Examiner that the law could backfire for conservatives and result in less free speech, rather than more.
If the anti-censorship bills become law and are enforced, social media platforms will be incentivized to change their content guidelines and rules to restrict more content out of an abundance of caution, conservative lawyers say.
“Because SB 7072 blatantly violates the First Amendment, there is no need even to reach the topic of common carriage,” said Corbin Barthold, internet policy counsel at TechFreedom. “But should the court see the need to address the common carriage theory, our brief explains in detail why it is a dead end for Florida.”
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Common carriers are businesses of public accommodation, similar to utility companies or telecommunications companies, which are not allowed to discriminate against consumers who are willing to pay fees. Such companies can be subjected to more government regulations than regular businesses.
