from the papers-please dept

I maintain listening to individuals faux that the GOP basically, and Florida GOPers extra particularly, and Governor Ron DeSantis most particularly, are preventing for “free speech,” after they regularly appear to push blatantly unconstitutional legislation designed to assault free speech and the first Modification in a method that keeps getting Florida shot down in court by judges (whereas wasting tons of taxpayer money).

However they only don’t cease. The most recent is a laughably unconstitutional invoice from Florida Senator Jason Brodeur, SB 1316, that violates the first Modification in so many various methods.

The invoice has a piece on “blogger registration and reporting.” Principally, any blogger reporting on the Florida authorities in an expert (paid) capability has to register with the federal government and file “month-to-month stories” on who’s paying them and the way a lot they’re being paid.


286.31 Blogger registration and reporting.—


(1) As used on this part, the time period:


(a) “Weblog” means a web site or webpage that hosts any blogger and is continuously up to date with opinion, commentary, or enterprise content material. The time period doesn’t embrace the web site of a newspaper or different related publication.
(b) “Blogger” means any particular person as outlined in s. 1.01(3) that submits a weblog publish to a weblog which is subsequently revealed.
(c) “Weblog publish” is a person webpage on a weblog which accommodates an article, a narrative, or a sequence of tales.
(d) “Compensation” consists of something of worth offered to a blogger in alternate for a weblog publish or sequence of weblog posts. If not offered in forex, it should be the fair-market worth of the merchandise or service exchanged.
(e) “Elected state officer” means the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, a Cupboard officer, or any member of the Legislature.
(f) “Workplace” means, within the context of a weblog publish a few member of the Legislature, the Workplace of Legislative Companies or, within the context of a weblog publish a few member of the manager department, the Fee on Ethics, as relevant.

(2) If a blogger posts to a weblog about an elected state officer and receives, or will obtain, compensation for that publish, the blogger should register with the suitable workplace, as recognized in paragraph (1)(f), inside 5 days after the primary publish by the blogger which mentions an elected state officer.

(3)(a) Upon registering with the suitable workplace, a blogger should file month-to-month stories on the tenth day following the top of every calendar month from the time a weblog publish is added to the weblog, besides that, if the tenth day following the top of a calendar month happens on a Saturday, Sunday, or authorized vacation, the report should be filed on the following day that’s not a Saturday, Sunday, or authorized vacation.

(b) If the blogger doesn’t have a weblog publish on a weblog throughout a given month, the month-to-month report for that month doesn’t have to be filed.
(c) The blogger should file stories with the suitable workplace utilizing the digital submitting system:


1. As offered in s. 11.0455 if the weblog publish issues an elected member of the Legislature; or
2. As offered in s. 112.32155 if the weblog publish issues an officer of the manager department.

(d) The stories should embrace the entire following:


1. The person or entity that compensated the blogger for the weblog publish.
2. The quantity of compensation acquired from the person or entity, no matter how the compensation was structured.


a. The quantity should be rounded to the closest $10 increment.
b. If the compensation is for a sequence of weblog posts or for an outlined time frame, the blogger should disclose the entire quantity to be acquired upon the primary weblog publish being revealed. Thereafter, the blogger should disclose the date or dates further compensation is acquired, if any, for the sequence of weblog posts.

3. The date the weblog publish was revealed. If the weblog publish is a part of a sequence, the date every weblog publish is revealed should be included within the relevant report.
4. The web site and web site tackle the place the weblog publish will be discovered.

That is… not how any of this works. The federal government can’t require “journalists” to register. They particularly can’t have this registration solely apply to journalists writing about elected officers. The federal government can’t demand they file month-to-month stories. The federal government can’t demand they reveal who’s paying them or how a lot. The entire thing is nothing however blatant journalist intimidation, and clearly a violation of the first Modification.

However, in fact, Brodeur (and DeSantis) don’t care one bit about free speech or the first Modification. They care about tradition wars and organising the media that’s exposing their nonsense as “the enemy.” And throwing the first Modification within the trash and lighting it on fireplace whereas dancing across the bonfire destroying free speech appears to be the tactic they’ve taken.

That doesn’t change the info, in fact. This can be a blatant assault on free speech, the first Modification, and a free press. I’m positive that we’ll have the same old crew of commenters who’ve been pretending for months that they assist free speech and can by some means twist themselves round to faux that this isn’t an assault on free speech. Simply assume how pathetic that’s: pretending to be a free speech warrior whereas cheering on the federal government spitting on the first Modification.

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