Florida governor DeSantis signs bill targeting social media platforms

The legislation also gives Florida residents the ability to sue tech companies for de-platforming. Similar bills have also been considered in states such as Arkansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Utah.

Florida’s bill comes as US lawmakers have proposed significant changes to the federal law that gives tech platforms the legal leeway to curate their platforms without being sued. The federal law, Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934, has come under attack by Democrats who argue platforms benefit from the law’s immunity protections without doing enough to rein in offensive content, while Republicans argue the platforms restrict too much content.

Tech industry officials have repeatedly denied blocking or removing content over political ideology. Many tech platforms have policies that prohibit the spreading of coronavirus misinformation or falsehoods about the 2020 election, and some high-profile Republicans, such as former President Donald Trump, have run afoul of those policies, resulting in their suspension from major online platforms.

Florida’s legislation will force tech platforms to step back from moderating their sites due to the threat of litigation by “any internet user, from foreign extremists to disgruntled internet trolls,” said the Computer and Communications Industry Association, a tech trade group.

Questions about the bill’s constitutionality are rooted in First Amendment cases prohibiting the government from compelling speech by private entities.

“The First Amendment to the United States Constitution — backstopped by Section 230 — makes it abundantly clear that states have no power to compel private companies to host speech, especially from politicians,” said Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, a co-author of Section 230, in a statement regarding the signing on the Florida bill.