New DeSantis-Endorsed Florida Bill An Outright Attack On The 1st Amendment And Free Speech

Free Speech

from the the-anti-1st-amendment-party dept

Florida governor Ron DeSantis likes to proclaim himself a defender of free speech, but time and time again he’s looked to stifle, suppress, and silence speech. He’s done it with his social media bill that limits the 1st Amendment rights of social media sites, with his Stop WOKE Act which literally bars speech, and with his various retaliation bills against Disney for daring to criticize him. And a few weeks ago he made it clear that he wanted to undermine a core bedrock 1st Amendment Supreme Court case, arguing that the finding in NY Times v. Sullivan should be done away with. We’ve already explained why that ruling is so important, because without it, powerful politicians like DeSantis would be able to constantly tie up critics in court with SLAPP suits.

Of course, a state can’t ignore the Supreme Court, but this is Florida, where anything goes. So, a DeSantis loyalist in the Florida legislature, Alex Andrade, introduced a bill to undermine decades of free speech-protecting defamation law last week (directly in response to DeSantis’ requests for such a bill). Apparently, someone pulled him aside and told him his initial bill wasn’t censorial enough, as he withdrew it the next day and introduced an even dumber, more censorial bill, HB 991.

This bill is a full frontal attack on the 1st Amendment. It specifically calls out “professional journalists” and “media entities” saying that they no longer get journalist’s privilege (which is what protects journalists from having to reveal their sources — so basically an attack on whistleblowers who go to the press), it has a sort of reverse anti-SLAPP in that plaintiffs can recover attorney’s fees from defendants, limits who can be considered a public figure (which would take them away from the Sullivan standard, towards a much lower standard), and then has some confused nonsense about “defamation per se” complete with statutory damages. It also includes an out-and-out attack on the 1st Amendment’s protection of anonymous speech by saying that anything from an anonymous source “is presumptively false.” And, finally, it simply tries to say that NY Times v. Sullivan no longer applies to public figures, in that they do “not need to show actual malice to prevail in defamation” claims.

Much of this is… pretty blatantly unconstitutional. It literally is the state of Florida saying that the 1st Amendment standards set out by the Supreme Court shouldn’t apply in Florida. Even if you disagree with the the Supreme Court’s ruling in NYT v. Sullivan (and you shouldn’t, because it’s been a huge boon to freedom of expression and the ability to hold the powerful accountable), you should recognize that a state can’t just ignore it.

There’s a lot of other nonsense in the bill as well, much of it seems explicitly designed as attacks on the media and free expression. For example, another part of the bill would remove the fee shifting aspects of Florida’s “offer of judgment” provision only in cases of defamation or privacy torts. The existing provision allows a defendant to make a settlement offer to the plaintiff, and if the plaintiff turns it down, and the final judgment is lower than the offer, the plaintiff then has to pay the legal fees of the defendant. This is a very useful provision in pressuring SLAPP filers to settle early. But, of course, it was that provision that put Laura Loomer on the hook for CAIR’s legal fees after her SLAPP suit against CAIR.

Basically, everything about this bill is (1) an attack on free speech, (2) an attack on the press, and (3) grievance politics from a bunch of nonsense peddlers who want to file SLAPP suits. Honestly, this bill should be described as a Pro-SLAPP law, as everything about it seems designed to encourage the filing of more frivolous lawsuits against the media, and in doing so, acts as a tool to harass and intimidate the media into silence.

Anyone who believes in free speech and the 1st Amendment should see this as an attack on both. Ron DeSantis and Alex Andrade are both going against their oaths to defend and uphold the Constitution, and are directly seeking to undermine it with this bill.

Filed Under: 1st amendment, actual malice, alex andrade, anti-slapp, defamation, fee shifting, florida, free speech, hb 991, nyt v. sullivan, pro-slapp, public figure, ron desantis, slapp