Court Rules DeSantis Can’t Stop Social Media Companies From Moderating Their Content

After Twitter banned Donald Trump for “inciting violence,” Florida’s governor attempted to curtail private social media companies’ right to moderate content.

A Florida law prohibiting social media companies such as Facebook and Twitter from banning political candidates will remain blocked, as a three-judge appellate panel ruled that it restricts the private companies’ First Amendment rights by inhibiting their ability to moderate content.

Following the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol, when throngs of Trump supporters stormed Congress, Twitter permanently suspended the former president’s @realDonaldTrump account.

“After close review of recent Tweets […] and the context around them we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” Twitter said at the time.

In response, Gov. Ron DeSantis made the social media legislation known as SB 7072 one of his top 2021 legislative priorities.

However, appellate Judge Kevin Newsom, joined by Judges Gerald Tjoflat and Ed Carnes, wrote that “the government can’t tell a private person or entity what to say or how to say it.”

Other Speech Banned in Florida

This comes as a blow to DeSantis, who claims tech companies have a liberal bias, which results in censoring speech by Republicans.

And yet… other groups don’t fare as well in DeSantis’ Florida. His “Don’t Say Gay” law, for example, bans discussion of age-appropriate LGBTQ topics in elementary schools. This can mean that children raised in an LGBTQ household need to keep their life “under wraps.” He also prohibits schools from teaching students the history of racial inequality in the US, and censors math books that allegedly mention critical race theory.