Florida social media law faces hearing in Alabama federal court - AL.com
A federal appeals court panel is hearing oral arguments today in Montgomery on whether Florida can enact a new law prohibiting social media companies from banning political candidates’ accounts.
It’s a case that is attracting attention from Republicans and conservative figures who say Big Tech censorship is squeezing out their viewpoints on social media.
Alabama is one of nine states that filed briefs in support of the Florida law before the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Florida legislature passed the law to stop “arbitrariness, censorship, and editorial abuse” by big tech companies in their decisions on removing posts, suspending users, and limiting the ability of users to share content, according to the court brief in support.
The hearing comes days after billionaire Elon Musk reached an agreement to acquire Twitter for approximately $44 billion. Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, has said he thinks the social media app is not living up to its potential as a platform for “free speech.”
Florida passed its social media law in 2021 after former President Donald Trump received a two-year suspension from Facebook and was permanently banned from Twitter for repeatedly false claims about fraud regarding the 2020 presidential election.
A federal judge court granted a preliminary injunction blocking parts of the Florida law after trade associations representing social media companies challenged the legislation as a violation of the First Amendment.
Last year, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, and attorneys general from Texas, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, and South Carolina, filed their brief in support of the Florida law with the 11th U.S. Circuit, asking it to reverse the preliminary injunction.
source: https://www.al.com/news/2022/04/florida-social-media-law-faces-hearing-in-alabama-federal-court.html
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