Federal judge blocks Florida social media law
01 July 2021
A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Florida law that would have forced social media companies to carry speech even if it violated their rules.
Why it matters: The law, which many experts expected to be declared unconstitutional, was set to go into effect Thursday.
Between the lines: While proponents aimed to position the law as protecting free speech rights, the judge in the case noted that the First Amendment only prevents the government from limiting speech, not private entities.
- The law also requires social media companies not to take down content from media companies of a certain size and allows for the fining of companies who permanently ban political candidates.
Yes, but: The court acknowledges it is less clear just how social media companies should be treated on speech issues more broadly.
- "The plaintiffs say, in effect, that they should be treated like any other speaker," the judge said in the ruling. "The State says, in contrast, that social- media providers are more like common carriers, transporting information from one person to another much as a train transports people or products from one city to another. The truth is in the middle."
What they're saying: CCIA President Matt Schruers, whose trade group was among those who sued to block the law said the ruling was "encouraging."
"Florida’s statute is an extraordinary overreach, designed to penalize private businesses for their perceived lack of deference to the Government’s political ideology. The court’s ruling is a win for internet users and the First Amendment."
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.