Florida Senate Considers Bill Making Accusations Of Racism, Sexism, Homophobia, Or Transphobia Defamatory

January 14, 2024
The bill will allow for someone to sue another person for calling them one of the listed words.
A new bill has been pushed to the Florida Senate that would make it possible to be charged with defamation if you accuse someone of being racist, sexist, homophobic, or even transphobic. Such accusations would no longer fall under the protection of freedom of speech if the bill is passed.
The bill, titled SB 1780 “Defamation, False Light, and Unauthorized Publication of Name or Likeness,” will allow for someone to sue another person for calling them one of the listed words, CBS reports.
The bill read, “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.” Regardless of whether or not the accusations are true or false, under SB 1780, it would be defamatory to say.
Other essential stipulations of the bill include that provable “actual malice” is no longer a requirement, which has been intrinsic for defamation suits in the past. By allowing for a standard fact finder to infer malice automatically, any accusation of someone else being discriminatory has a lower investigative threshold before a lawsuit can be passed.
SB 1780 has also included sections concerning public figures and journalists, and how they are affected by the potential change. Not only would it restrict those who count as a “public figure” by restricting the definition to not include “non-elected or appointed public employees and individuals who gained notoriety by publicly defending themselves against accusations, giving interviews or being the subject of a viral video, image, or statement uploaded on the Internet” but it also extends to any statements made that are made in the media.
In regard to journalists, SB 1780 will impose noticeable restrictions. According to the bill, any statements made by anonymous sorcerers will be “presumptively false,” subjecting journalists to be vulnerable to lawsuits or reveal their sorcerers.
The punishment for defamation under the new bill is a fine of at least $35,000 if the defendant is found liable.
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