An appeals court finds Florida's social media law unconstitutional

A federal appeals court found that a Florida law intended to punish social media platforms is an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment, dealing a major victory to companies who had been accused by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, pictured on May 9, of discriminating against conservative thought. (Marta Lavandier/AP)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A Florida law intended to punish social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter is an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment, a federal appeals court ruled Monday, dealing a major victory to companies who had been accused by GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis of discriminating against conservative thought.

A three-judge panel of the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously concluded that it was overreach for DeSantis and the Republican-led Florida Legislature to tell the social media companies how to conduct their work under the Constitution's free speech guarantee.