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Federal Judge Blocks Florida Social Media Law, Says It Likely Violated Free Speech

The social media legislation, known as SB 7072, was signed into law by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in May, in an attempt to limit social media platforms from kicking off certain users. The legislation was a response to social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube suspending Trump’s accounts for violating their policies following the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. After signing the law, DeSantis said big tech companies will be held accountable for enforcing rules inconsistently, “to discriminate in favor of the dominant Silicon Valley ideology.”

Industry groups like NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) immediately sued to stop the law’s enforcement, saying it would compel social media platforms to host offensive speech that violated their editorial policies. Observers have noted that the law would likely be struck down for being unconstitutional.