Florida Social Media Platforms Bill - SB.7072

Summary

The law prohibits social media platforms from de-platforming candidates for political office and allows the Florida Elections Commission to fine a social media platform $250,000 per day for de-platforming statewide candidates and $25,000 per day for de-platforming all other candidates. A candidate de-platformed by a social media platform may also sue for damages and other forms of equitable relief, including injunctive relief.

The law also establishes requirements for social media platforms under the State’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. These requirements include:

• Publish the standards, including detailed definitions, it uses or has used for determining how to censor, de-platform, and shadow ban;
• Apply censorship, de-platforming, and shadow-banning standards consistently among users on the platform;
• Inform each user about any changes to its user rules, terms, and agreements before implementing the changes and may not make changes more than once every 30 days;
• Provide notice of censorship, shadow banning, or de-platforming to the user within seven days after the censoring action;
• Provide a mechanism that allows a user to request the number of other individual platform participants who were provided or shown the user’s content or posts, and provide that information upon request;
• Categorize algorithms used for post-prioritization and shadow banning and allow a user to opt-out of post-prioritization and shadow banning algorithm categories to allow sequential or chronological posts and content (the opt-out opportunity must be re-offered annually);
• Provide users with an annual notice on the use of algorithms for post-prioritization and shadow banning; and
• Allow a user who has been de-platformed to access or retrieve all of the user’s information, content, material, and data for at least 60 days after being de-platformed.

If the State, by its own inquiry or as a result of a complaint, finds a violation of any of these requirements, it may bring a civil or administrative action against the social media platform.

Finally, the law establishes restrictions for public entities to contract with social media platforms that have violated antitrust laws.

Updates

May 24, 2021. The bill was signed into law on May 24. Netchoice, LLC and CCIA, industry groups representing Google, Facebook, and other social media platforms, filed a lawsuit on May 27 asking a federal court to invalidate the law. (See NetChoice, L.L.C. v. Ashley Moody, Attorney General of Florida)

June 30, 2021. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida issued a preliminary injunction preventing the law from being enforced.

September 7, 2021. The Florida Attorney General appeals to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

May 23, 2022. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the June 2021 ruling saying that most of the Florida law was “substantially likely” to be a violation of social media platforms’ First Amendment rights.

September 21, 2022. Citing an appeals court decision to remove an injunction on a similar law enacted in Texas, the state of Florida appealed to the Supreme Court to reinstate its law.

September 29, 2023. Supreme Court grants petition for review. The review will be limited to Questions 1 and 2 as presented by the U.S. Solicitor General's brief.

December 7, 2023. NetChoice, LLC, and CCIA filed their brief for respondents. Briefs of an amicus curiae (amicus briefs) in support or in support of neither party filed.

February 26, 2024. Supreme Court holds oral argument in Moody v. NetChoice, LLC.

July 1, 2024. The Supreme Court vacates and remands the decision back to the Eleventh Circuit.