Judge blocks Florida law aimed at punishing social media companies

From CNET: A federal judge on Wednesday issued an order blocking a Florida law from going into effect that would have allowed the state to punish social media companies for banning politicians or political candidates from their platforms. US District Judge Robert Hinkle's preliminary injunction came a day before the law was to go into effect on Thursday.

Hinkle found that the law's prohibition on "deplatforming" may violate companies' free speech rights and that the legislation on the whole is "viewpoint-based."

"The legislation compels providers to host speech that violates their standards -- speech they otherwise would not host -- and forbids providers from speaking as they otherwise would," Hinkle wrote in his judgment.

Hinkle criticized the law as being too broadly written and found that promoting one viewpoint while restricting another isn't a legitimate state interest.

"Like prior First Amendment restrictions, this is an instance of burning the house to roast a pig," he wrote.

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