Cite as: 603 U. S. ____ (2024)
7
ALITO, J., concurring in judgment
§501.2041(5). The law allows the Florida Elections Commission to fine platforms that fail to host candidates for
public office. Fla. Stat. §106.072(3) (2023). And the law
permits aggrieved users to sue and recover up to $100,000
for each violation of the content-moderation and disclosure
provisions, along with actual damages, equitable relief, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees. §501.2041(6).
To protect platforms, the law provides that it “may only
be enforced to the extent not inconsistent with federal law,”
including §203 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996.
§501.2041(9). Section 230(c)(2)(A) of that Act shields internet platforms from liability for voluntary, good-faith efforts
to restrict or remove content that is “obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable.” 47 U. S. C. §230(c)(2)(A).
2
Days after S. B. 7072’s enactment, NetChoice filed suit in
federal court, alleging that the new law violates the First
Amendment in all its applications.8 As a result, NetChoice
asked the District Court to enter a preliminary injunction
against any enforcement of any of its provisions before the
law took effect.
Florida defended the constitutionality of S. B. 7072. It
argued that the law’s prohibition of censorship does not violate the freedom of speech because the First Amendment
permits the regulation of the conduct of entities that do not
express their own views but simply provide the means for
others to communicate. See Record in No. 4:21–CV–00220
——————
8 NetChoice also argued that S. B. 7072 is preempted by 47 U. S. C.
§230(c) and is unconstitutionally vague. Those arguments are not before
us because the District Court did not rule on the vagueness issue, 546
F. Supp. 3d 1082, 1095 (ND Fla. 2021), and the Eleventh Circuit declined
to reach the preemption issue, NetChoice v. Attorney Gen., Fla., 34 F. 4th
1196, 1209 (2022).
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