Florida free speech advocates say they killed several censorship bills this year
TALLAHASSEE — For the first time in years, free speech advocates said they scored major victories in the legislative session that ended March 8, pushing back against bills that would have expanded government censorship and likely led to more lawsuits.
But they also said several bills did get through that they promised to challenge in court, adding to the millions of taxpayer dollars already spent by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration fighting litigation against laws passed in recent years.
Bobby Block, president of the First Amendment Foundation, said his group and others “managed to push back, derail or outright defeat most of the bad legislation we prioritized back in January.”
Unlike in past sessions, “there is more good news than bad news,” said Katie Blankenship, director of the free speech advocacy group PEN America Florida.
“Floridians are taking back their fundamental freedoms, and courts are drawing lines in the sand for laws that so clearly cross the First Amendment threshold,” Blankenship said, crediting their success to citizen letter-writing campaigns to lawmakers.
Topping the First Amendment Foundation’s victory list was the derailment of a defamation bill that would have made it much easier for politicians and the wealthy to sue reporters over stories they didn’t like, he said.
Had it passed “the bill would have had a chilling effect on reporting the actions of public officials,” Block said.
It’s the second year in a row that the bill was introduced and defeated, in part because of the persistent objections of conservative media outlets.
Another bill targeted by free speech advocates would have censored speech on college campuses the state deemed as dangerously promoting “foreign terrorism.”
The bill’s definition of foreign terrorism made specific reference to Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. It was filed when college students across the nation were protesting the Israeli bombings of Gaza after Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel on October 7.
Had the bill not died in committee, colleges and universities would have been required to report students who engaged in such speech to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. They also would have had to bar students who “promote foreign terrorist organizations” from receiving fee waivers, tuition assistance, state grants and other forms of financial aid.
Advocates also took credit for killing a bill that would have prevented government employees and contractors from using preferred pronouns for themselves or coworkers. Another bill that died this session would have allowed the Florida National Guard to use “reasonable force” to stop someone from “desecrating” the American flag.
Another killed in committee would have banned flags displaying political, racial or sexual orientation views on government property, including public schools and universities.
“This vague bill will chill personal and political expression in our K-12 schools and universities,” Blankenship said.
Several approved bills will likely face legal challenges unless DeSantis vetoes them, advocates said.
Although the final version of a social media ban for kids (HB 3) signed into law by DeSantis was scaled back so parents could approve access to social media for their 14- and 15-year-olds, it still bans kids under 14.
“Unfortunately, the Legislature this year passed HB 3, an egregious social media censorship bill that violates the First Amendment rights of all Floridians,” said Greg Y. Gonzalez, legislative counsel for the nonprofit free speech advocacy group, Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). “We’ve urged the governor to veto it, and if he doesn’t, we expect it to face significant trouble in court.”
The Legislature also passed a bill (SB 184) to protect firefighters and police from being harassed while working a fire or crime or other emergency. Block said it would prevent reporters and individuals from recording the responders at the scene.
And lawmakers passed a bill (HB 1291) banning the discussion of identity politics during classes to prepare for their teaching certificates.
“HB 1291 is nothing but an educational gag order that muzzles professors on ideas and concepts at both public and private universities, jeopardizing the integrity of higher education and the quality of K-12 instruction,” Blankenship said.
Under the bill, professors would be prohibited from teaching future K-12 teachers anything related to “systemic racism” or “identity politics” – terms that the bill itself fails to define, Blankenship said.
“Every concept banned under the Stop WOKE Act is directly incorporated into this bill,” Blankenship said. “However, a federal judge has already blocked that law. We should not be surprised when this bill is met with similar legal action.”
Since DeSantis began his anti-woke crusade a few years ago, more than a dozen lawsuits have been filed challenging the constitutionality of legislation allegedly restricting speech, costing the state more than $18 million in legal fees and counting, state records show.
“These discriminatory practices have already failed, and taxpayers are footing the bill,” Blankenship said.
Other lawsuits have been filed over efforts to restrict drag shows and what teachers and professors can teach in class, as well as state attempts to ban campus chapters of the Students for Palestinian Justice.
The state has also been challenged over its failure to release records related to migrant relocation, its dismantling of the regulatory agency overseeing Disney World’s planning and development, the restricting the ability of Chinese to buy Florida land, the restoration of felon rights, and a decision to ban treating minors for gender identity issues.
Those legal challenges are partly why FIRE has ranked Florida as the third worst censor of 2023 in the United States.
“Censorship is an abuse of authority and a poor substitute for honest dialogue, and FIRE is here to fight it every step of the way,” said Greg Lukianoff, FIRE president and CEO.