In Florida, those making accusations of racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia could get slapped with a hefty lawsuit. That’s if state lawmakers push through a measure that would make it easier to bring a defamation case against someone who makes those types of accusations, raising concerns about threats to freedom of speech.
Filed in the 2024 legislative session in Florida, SB 1780 has been labeled as a defamation bill that has sparked controversy and received pushback from many Democrats. One major provision would require those accused of defamation to pay fines of up to $35,000.
“An allegation that the plaintiff has discriminated against another person or group because of their race, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity constitutes defamation per se,” the bill states. The bill goes further: It also proposes to block a journalist from using anonymous sources, which could facilitate the process to sue a reporter for defamation.
Critics and First Amendment advocates argue the bill is an attempt to chill free speech, part of Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republicans’ efforts to fight against members of the media who publicly criticize government officials.
“More attempts to chill free speech in the ‘free’ State of Florida,” state Rep. Anna Eskamani, an Orlando Democrat, said in a post on X. Journalist and transgender rights activist Erin Reed told the Tallahassee Democrat, “the bill would tremendously chill speech in Florida.”
DeSantis, who is lagging in the GOP presidential primary race, has long been critical of the media and pledged to make it easier to sue news outlets. During a roundtable discussion in 2023, the Republican governor expressed his intention to simplify the process of suing media outlets that he said were “society’s ‘leading purveyors of disinformation,’” the Tallahassee Democrat reported.
As it stands now, the defamation bill hasn’t gained any traction yet since it was…
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