Florida Court Allows Social Media Platforms to Continue Banning Politicians

The state has a legitimate interest in ensuring that a platform’s users “aren’t misled about platforms’ content-moderation policies,” the appeals court said

Landwebs Landwebs
May 25, 2022 - 07:00
0 1
Florida Court Allows Social Media Platforms to Continue Banning Politicians

A federal appeals court has ruled that it is unconstitutional for Florida to stop social media platforms from banning politicians, reports Bloomberg News. The Eleventh Circuit ruled that social media companies are private actors whose rights are protected by the First Amendment, upholding part of an injunction against the state law that sought to penalize social media companies for banning political candidates from their platforms. However, the appeals court said that the state has a legitimate interest in ensuring that a platform’s users “aren’t misled about platforms’ content-moderation policies,” the appeals court said. The state’s Republicans crafted a law last year to ensure politicians could remain active on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook after those companies suspended former President Donald Trump’s accounts.

Read More