Florida faces lawsuit against law that penalises social media companies for political censorship
A federal lawsuit has been filed to nullify a Florida law that inflicts a penalty on social media companies for stopping the speech of political candidates, calling it a “frontal assault on the First Amendment,” reported USA Today.
Technology trade firms, NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association, sued the state on Thursday in Tallahassee federal court on charges that the law it has been crafted in a way that it thwarts alleged censorship of conservative opinions and views violates the Constitution, according to a copy of the lawsuit seen by USA Today.
The tech industry’s lawsuit claims that the Florida law violates the First Amendment rights of online businesses and is taken over by a federal law that protects internet giants from being sued for how they produce and deal with content.
The law was signed on Monday by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.
The law is being termed as first of its kind to go after Facebook, Twitter and Google-owned YouTube for unfairly prohibiting or removing conservative content from their platforms. However, the company denies this charge.
