Gus Hurwitz on Florida’s Deplatforming Law

Sinclair Broadcast Group – ICLE Director of Law & Economics Programs Gus Hurwitz was quoted in a story by Sinclair Broadcast Group about a new law signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that would bar social media companies from suspending candidates for public office. You can read the full piece here.

The Supreme Court has ruled that editorial decisions are protected by the Constitution, and it has generally rejected the premise that private companies can be required to meet state-imposed fairness standards. According to Gus Hurwitz, an expert on telecommunications law and technology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Law, there is “no question” S.B. 7072 violates the current understanding of the First Amendment.

“Requiring platforms to host content with which they disagree is compelled speech, just like a university requiring loyalty oaths, requiring students to profess belief in ideas they find objectionable, or requiring newspapers to publish op-eds the editorial board disagrees with,” Hurwitz said.