Florida Man Channels His Inner Orbán
In the name of "conservatism", a Florida Senator wants bloggers to register with the state
In a world where conservatism has abandoned small government and is embracing statist tactics, one Florida State Senator stands out for going way, way too far:
Florida Sen. Jason Brodeur (R-Lake Mary) wants bloggers who write about Gov. Ron DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody, and other members of the Florida executive cabinet or legislature to register with the state or face fines.
Brodeur’s proposal, Senate Bill 1316: Information Dissemination, would require any blogger writing about government officials to register with the Florida Office of Legislative Services or the Commission on Ethics.
In the bill, Brodeur wrote that those who write “an article, a story, or a series of stories,” about “the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, a Cabinet officer, or any member of the Legislature,” and receives or will receive payment for doing so, must register with state offices within five days after the publication of an article that mentions an elected state official.
If another blog post is added to a blog, the blogger would then be required to submit monthly reports on the 10th of each month with the appropriate state office. They would not have to submit a report on months when no content is published.
It is unclear exactly why Brodeur thinks his bill is even remotely constitutional since, you may have heard, the issue of Freedom of the Press was settled in the Bill of Rights:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
And just so we’re clear, the Florida Declaration of Rights states:
Every person may speak, write and publish sentiments on all subjects but shall be responsible for the abuse of that right. No law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press. In all criminal prosecutions and civil actions for defamation the truth may be given in evidence. If the matter charged as defamatory is true and was published with good motives, the party shall be acquitted or exonerated.
There are places in the world that do licenses bloggers. They are such paragons of open government like Saudi Arabia.
Brodeur’s bill reeks of something that would happen in Viktor Orbán’s Hungary, Vladimir Putin’s Russia, or Red China more than it does in Florida, a state that touts itself as a bastion of freedom.
It also has a hint of Kirby Delauter-style entitlement. Let us go back to 2015:
A Frederick County councilman, upset by coverage in his local newspaper, has threatened a reporter with legal action if she uses his name in news articles without his consent.
In a move that by Tuesday was earning him nationwide ridicule, Republican Councilman Kirby Delauter told Frederick News-Post reporter Bethany Rodgers that she should be ashamed for "an unauthorized use of my name."
"Do not contact me and do not use my name or reference me in an unauthorized form in the future," Delauter commanded.
Rodgers replied -- correctly under the First Amendment to the Constitution -- that there is no legal requirement to receive a person's authorization to use his or her name in an article. After pointing out that Delauter was an elected official, Rodgers wrote that she was required as a matter of journalistic principle to continue to try to contact him when he was the subject of one of her articles.
Apparently unhappy with Rodgers' reply, Delauter issued a threat: "Use my name again unauthorized and you'll be paying for an attorney. Your rights stop where mine start."
Delauter of course went on to get stomped in his attempt to get elected Frederick County Executive in the 2018 Republican Primary.
Brodeur’s bill is atrociously and brazenly unconstitutional. It should not see the light of day. But unfortunately, Republicans in 2023 seem to be far more comfortable with unconstitutional abuses of power and authoritarian government than any mainstream American political party should be.