The Florida State Senate has advanced a bill that opponents say threatens freedom of speech and opens the doors to frivolous lawsuits at the expense of journalists and media outlets, Florida Politics reported.
The controversial bill, SB 752, was advanced by Florida's Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee by a 6-3 vote on Tuesday, bringing the measure one step closer to becoming law.
Sponsored by Tallahassee Republican Sen. Corey Simon, the bill would force the deletion of news stories, either in print, digital, or broadcast, if they contain either false, defamatory, or outdated information.
Media outlets would be required by law to remove all references from said material from their servers if the outlet discovers the reporting is inaccurate or they are forced to through a court order.
If a person or company refuses to remove a story in question they will forfeit their fair report privilege considerations in defamation and libel lawsuits.
The law states that a story must be deleted even if just one word or sentence is inaccurate. Stories that do not keep up-to-date information, such as an exoneration or decision not to prosecute, would also have to be removed.
Barry Richard, the husband of Tallahassee Democrat Rep. Allison Tant, gave the example of a former client who was arrested for a crime in 2017, but the state attorney decided not to prosecute due to insufficient evidence.
While some news organizations complied with the man's request to have the articles removed, one outlet refused arguing that the original reporting remained accurate even if outdated.
"Today, seven years later, if you Google his name you will see him in the orange jumpsuit being accused of a crime," Richard told members of the committee Tuesday. Simon added that the man "has been given a life sentence for a false accusation."
Critics worry that the bill will open the door to frivolous lawsuits and make it easier for politicians to sue over reporting they find objectionable. The Florida ACLU argued that the bill "removes long-protected freedoms that have allowed the press to effectively serve as our democracy's fourth branch of government."
Kara Gross, legislative director and senior policy counsel of the ACLU of Florida, said, "Freedom of speech and a free press are the hallmarks of a healthy democracy. SB 752 threatens both these freedoms by weakening state laws that have long protected media outlets, journalists, and citizens alike from frivolous lawsuits."
"This overly broad and vague bill is a brazen and blatant attack on the First Amendment. If passed, it will chill, silence, and punish media outlets for doing their jobs. A free press is critical to hold government accountable for its actions," Gross added.
Simon pushed back in the face of the attacks saying, "This has nothing to do with infringing on your First Amendment rights. What this does is it removes the fair reporting privilege that you have given up by reporting something knowingly false and keeping it up."
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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