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NetChoice, LLC, et al.v.Attorney General, State of Florida, et al.

CourtUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Docket No.21-12355
DecidedMay 23, 2022
Reporter34 F.4th 1196
JudgesNewsom, Tjoflat, and Ed Carnes, Circuit Judges
Tags
CivilCivil RightsFirst AmendmentFree SpeechGovernment LawElection LawPreliminary InjunctionVacaturRemand
Case Summary

NetChoice and CCIA challenged Florida’s S.B. 7072, which restricted large social-media platforms’ moderation of candidate and journalistic content and required explanations for moderation decisions and access to user data. The district court preliminarily enjoined much of the law. The Eleventh Circuit held that platforms’ curation and content moderation are protected editorial activity and that the plaintiffs were substantially likely to succeed on First Amendment challenges to provisions on candidate deplatforming and posts, journalistic enterprises, moderation consistency, timing, opt-outs, and detailed explanations. It affirmed the injunction as to those provisions. It vacated the injunction as to requirements concerning platform standards, rule changes, post view counts, candidate free advertising, and user-data access, finding no substantial likelihood of unconstitutionality at this stage, and remanded.

Opinion

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