It’s no secret that massive tech companies like Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Apple and Google went on a censorship spree over the past months. In response, Florida passed a law (Senate Bill 7072) prohibiting the companies’ ability to de-platform politicians and empowering Floridians to sue them over unfair treatment.
Now, a federal judge has blocked the law from being implemented one day before it was scheduled to take effect on July 1.
As previously reported by The Daily Citizen, under the bill:
- “All Floridians treated unfairly by Big Tech platforms will have the right to sue companies that violate this law — and win monetary damages.”
- “The Attorney General of Florida can bring action against technology companies that violate this law, under Florida’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act. If social media platforms are found to have violated antitrust law, they will be restricted from contracting with any public entity.”
- “Big Tech is prohibited from de-platforming Floridian political candidates. The Florida Election Commission will impose fines of $250,000 per day on any social media company that de-platforms any candidate for statewide office, and $25,000 per day for de-platforming candidates for non-statewide offices.”
In response, NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) sued saying that the law violated the First Amendment.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle of the Northern District of Florida, a Clinton appointee, sided with NetChoice and issued a preliminary injunction stopping the law from taking effect.
In his ruling, Judge Hinkle said SB 7072’s stipulation prohibiting social media companies from de-platforming candidates is preempted by § 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The act stipulates that no provider of an interactive computer service can be held liable for restricting objectionable content that is “taken in good faith.”
“Removing a candidate from a platform based on otherwise legitimate, generally applicable standards—those applicable to individuals who are not candidates—easily meets the good-faith requirement,” the judge wrote.
Judge Hinkle also ruled that § 230 preempted the statutes that “purport to impose liability for other decisions to remove or restrict access to content.”
“The legislation now at issue was an effort to rein in social-media providers deemed too large and too liberal,” the judge wrote. “Balancing the exchange of ideas among private speakers is not a legitimate governmental interest.”
“Like prior First Amendment restrictions, this is an instance of burning the house to roast a pig,” Judge Hinkle quipped.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said he will appeal the decision to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which has seven Republican appointees and five Democrat ones.
The governor’s office said following the ruling, “We are disappointed by Judge Hinkle’s ruling and disagree with his determination that the U.S. Constitution protects Big Tech’s censorship of certain individuals and content over others.”
The case is NetChoice v. Ashley Brooke Moody.
HD Editors Note: Why Is This News Biblically Relevant?
In recent months, we have seen a rising brazenness on the part of social media tech giants to silence conservative voices, chiefly those that oppose the Marxist, pro-abortion, LGBT, globalist, COVID totalitarian, and anti-God agendas being perpetrated by the left.
Although not what one might picture when thinking of the term “lawlessness,” this too is corrupt and lawless behavior. Tech giants continue to escape being held accountable for their attacks on the fundamental right of free speech, as well as their election meddling and suppression of truth.
David Fiorazo, in his recent article, “Censorship Is Here – and They’re Coming for Christians,” explained that “the more the culture tries to silence us, the more we will fight to speak the truth.”
Community guidelines, medical misinformation, hate speech, double standards, content no longer available, “posts didn’t follow our standards,” …I’ve heard enough. So have a majority of Christians, pastors, and ministry leaders. Censorship isn’t coming for you sometime down the road if you dare speak the truth; it’s here, friends.
The left can’t win arguments and debates because their policies are awful and their worldview is warped. They rejected God so they now have to silence those who disagree with them and who hold to a biblical worldview. This is where you and I come in.
I’ve contacted over a dozen pastor friends and conservative leaders of Christian ministries or non-profits for this report. Almost every single one of them said similar things about why they were banned, censored, deleted, or warned by big tech or social media platforms. It comes down to intolerance of the biblical worldview.
Enemies of God are not as concerned about silent Christians, but these are remnant believers who are unashamed of the name of Jesus and the Gospel.
If you believe Jesus is Lord, the Bible is God’s Word, and people need to repent of their sins, you will be canceled – that is, IF they know you’re a Christian and if you speak the truth publicly.
It is no surprise that satan hates those who speak the truth, this has been displayed throughout history, and it is specifically amplified in these last days (2 Timothy 3:8-13).
2 Timothy 3:8-9, 12-13 KJV – “Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as their’s also was. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”
