On May 18, the Orlando Sentinel obtained documents showing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s staff worked on a proposal that would change the New York Times v. Sullivan defamation standard. The draft bill would have changed both the “actual malice” standard and the definition of a “public figure.” The document stated “to the extent these provisions conflict with existing Supreme Court precedent, this legislation aims to invite challenges to such precedent with the goal of restoring the original understanding of the First Amendment.” In essence, the draft bill would offer far less protections to news publishers and journalists. Read more.
Members of the News/Media Alliance staff have contributed to this post.
