Moody v. NetChoice is the fault of DeSantis and conservative moral panics
Background information
A particular Supreme Court case that was recently argued, Moody v. NetChoice, has been making the rounds in a few news outlets. In May 2021, Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed Florida Senate Bill 7072 that prohibited social-media platforms from imposing specific restrictions or punishments on accounts of candidates for political office or otherwise a politically open citizen.[src] DeSantis cited that he is guaranteeing Floridians "protection against the Silicon Valley elites," with Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez saying that Big Tech will "contrive, manipulate, and censor [you] if you voice views that run contrary to their radical leftist narrative." NetChoice, an industry association that represents internet companies like Google and Twitter, stated that the bill violated social-media companies' First Amendment right to free speech.[src] This bill would legally allow Florida residents to sue Big Tech companies that violate the law and win monetarily. The law also allows the Florida Elections Commission to fine social-media companies $250,000 per day for restricting state candidates and $25,000 per day for restricting local candidates.[src] The Eleventh Circuit ruled against this law in May 2022, though the law is now in the high court.[src]
Interpretation and opinion
This law is ridiculous. For one, citing that voicing right-wing opinions or dissents are being censored because of inherent bias from large social-media companies is disingenous. The only reason companies would remove content from right-wing politicians or users is because the content violated their Terms of Service or community guidelines. With the increase in anti-LGBT rhetoric and the moral panic surrounding trans rights, it is no shock that Ron DeSantis, hoping to push his political agenda consisting of pure transphobia, is framing rightfully deleted content as censorship of conservative voices, when the reality is those conservative voices will intentionally harm and misgender their political opponents because they feel oppressed by a minority, a violation of community guidelines on virtually every online platform. Need I remind DeSantis that social-media companies are not government enterprises and thus are not guaranteed free speech absolutism, a stance on freedom of speech that has had historically bad results?[src] Need I also remind him that the freedom of speech is not the freedom of consequence?[src] Need I also remind him that the protection of free speech means you should have the right to speak your mind but does not mean people need to hear you? Plus, those big bucks from violations of this law would certainly not go into the state budget to improve critical infrastructure or anything that actually matters; it's most likely to end into the hands of Ron DeSantis for his next failure of a presidential campaign.
TL;DR Ron DeSantis is a fascist.
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