Can private companies suppress free speech?

The text of the First Amendment itself only prevents Congress (i.e., U.S. Congress) from making laws that restrict the freedom of speech. In other words, a private person or private company (such as a social media company) cannot violate your constitutional free speech rights, only the government can do so.

Can a private company violate your constitutional rights?

When a private company is under contract to the government, they can be sued for violating your constitutional rights.

What nationality is Ron Desantis from Florida?

American
Ron DeSantis/Nationality

Why is the Communications Decency Act unconstitutional?

American Civil Liberties Union, stating that the indecency provisions were an unconstitutional abridgement of the First Amendment because they did not permit parents to decide for themselves what material was acceptable for their children, extended to non-commercial speech, and did not carefully define the words ” …

What does section 230 of the Communications Decency Act say?

Section 230 says that “No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider” (47 U.S.C. § 230).

Why did the Supreme court justices rule the Communications Decency Act unconstitutional?

“The Communications Decency Act lacks the precision that the First Amendment requires when a statute regulates the content of speech. The court ruled that constitutional free speech protections apply just as much to online systems as they do to books and newspapers.

Why did Florida lawmakers raise Tech regulation fines for speech?

The proposed fines were lower in the original bill, but on Tuesday the Florida state House raised them in an amendment. Florida Republican lawmakers have cited tech companies’ wide influence over speech as a reason for the increased regulation.

Should social media companies be allowed to deplatform political candidates?

The Florida bill would prohibit social media companies from knowingly “deplatforming” political candidates, meaning a service could not “permanently delete or ban” a candidate. Suspensions of up to 14 days would still be allowed, and a service could remove individual posts that violate its terms of service.

Do tech companies have too much influence over speech in Florida?

Florida Republican lawmakers have cited tech companies’ wide influence over speech as a reason for the increased regulation. “What this bill is about is sending a loud message to Silicon Valley that they are not the absolute arbiters of truth,” state Rep. John Snyder, a Republican from the Port St. Lucie area, said Wednesday.

What is Florida’s new social media ban law?

The law bars social media platforms from banning Floridian political candidates and authorizes the Florida Election Commission to impose fines if these candidates were to be deplatformed. The fines range from $250,000 per day for statewide office candidates and $25,000 per day for non-statewide offices.