A recently introduced bill in the Florida Senate seeks to remake defamation law, scraping major constitutional protections for disparaging speech. It's extremely similar to another proposed law introduced in the state House in 2023. Both bills seek to widen the legal definition of defamation in Florida in order to punish constitutionally protected speech.
Introduced last week, Senate Bill 1780 proposes several major changes to Florida defamation law. Like its House counterpart, the bill would significantly narrow the definition of a public figure in defamation suits, excluding non-elected or appointed public employees and individuals who gained notoriety by publicly defending themselves against an accusation, giving an interview, or being the subject of a viral "video, image, or statement uploaded on the Internet."
