CDT Files Brief Urging 11th Circuit to Affirm Preliminary Injunction Enjoining Enforcement of Florida’s Social Media Law, S.B. 7072
CDT filed an amicus brief in NetChoice v. Attorney General, State of Florida to urge the 11th Circuit to affirm a preliminary injunction enjoining enforcement of Florida’s social media law, S.B. 7072. The amicus brief argues that content moderation requires online intermediaries to make decisions about whether to host particular content and how to arrange and display it, and that these editorial judgments are protected by the First Amendment.
The brief explains how intermediaries use the development and enforcement of their content policies to control and shape their services’ environment and express their own values and aspirations for their services. It argues that S.B. 7072’s provisions prohibiting certain social media platforms from barring political candidates’ accounts for more than fourteen days and from removing or labeling content by journalistic enterprises harms the public interest.
These provisions prevent platforms from moderating content from politicians and journalistic enterprises that violate their content policies – including disinformation, sexual content, racist speech, or impersonation – just as they would any other user. For more about CDT’s concerns with S.B. 7072, see this blog post.
