DeSantis tramples 1st Amendment

[kadee79]

He can blabber all he wants, but actions speak louder than his blabber.

When Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Republican Party punished Disney for its criticism of the "Don't say gay" bill — in other words, for corporate speech that was clearly political in nature, their retaliation was not just fiscally shortsighted, it was illegal. Any government attempt to restrict a corporation's speech based on the content of that speech must satisfy the strictest scrutiny, meaning the restriction adopted by the government must be narrowly tailored to serve a compelling government interest. Restrictions based on political viewpoint have long been prohibited. Stripping Disney of its special tax status in two Florida counties (which both lean Democratic), while leaving intact more than 1,800 similar tax districts in largely Republican counties, is not narrowly tailored to achieve any clear objective, nor is silencing political critics a compelling or even legitimate government interest in the first instance.

More than 10 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court vested corporations with the same legal protections as other individuals when speaking on political issues. In the infamous Citizens United decision of 2010, the court elevated the protection due corporate political speech, shielding corporate expenditures for that purpose under the First Amendment. Maligned by the left for largely valid reasons, Citizens United has empowered Big Oil, utility companies and other deep-pocket industries to boost politicians like DeSantis, who symbiotically protect their corporate profits instead of protecting constituents worried about climate, even as Florida's coasts sink visibly around them.

Vesting well-funded corporations with expanded political speech rights may have sealed the fate of our rising oceans, but Citizens United also arms corporations like Disney with legal ballast to protect themselves against would-be autocrats who seek to silence them. Although DeSantis was quick to disavow any retaliatory motive in his move to strip Disney of its independent taxing status, his disavowal is absurd in light of the timing and his own comments. Late in 2021, DeSantis warned Florida's most powerful companies not to display "corporate wokeness," widely regarded as showing support for LGBTQ rights and racial justice. He further threatened that if corporations did display "wokeness," the state would "look under the hood" of their operations, with the clear implication that they would examine more closely business practices previously deemed acceptable.

Although DeSantis disavowed any retaliatory motive in his move against Disney, that seems absurd in light of the timing — and his own comments.

www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/ron-desantis-tramples-the-first-amendment-gops-disney-payback-is-clearly-unconstitutional/ar-AAWRPq0?ocid=msedgdhp&li=BBnbfcL

[djAdvocate]

his Covid response should have got him impeached.

Florida is a weird place.

[happyhoix]

Yeah and his fancy little move with Disney cost taxpayers a bunch of money - just like Abbot did in Texas grandstanding by checking all those trucks.

Anything to get attention- trying to get noticed for 2024 I’m guessing.

[Tennesseer]

Why do I se DeSantis and 'Don't Say Gay' involved with this.

Hawley introducing measure to strip Disney of copyright protections

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced legislation on Tuesday that would strip "woke corporations like Disney" of special protections enabling companies to hold copyright material for decades.

The Copyright Clause Restoration Act would limit copyrighted material to 56 years and apply the new rule retroactively, meaning Disney and other companies could immediately lose some copyright protections if the law were passed.

The measure is the latest Republican attack on Disney, which last month was stripped of its self-governing status at its amusement park in Orlando, Florida, after Gov. Ron DeSantis took issue with the media company for speaking out against the state's "Don't Say Gay" law, which prohibits the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through third grade.

Hawley's bill goes after Disney's long-running list of iconic characters stretching from Mickey Mouse to Marvel superheroes.

Hawley said in a press release that "the age of Republican handouts to Big Business is over."

"Thanks to special copyright protections from Congress, woke corporations like Disney have earned billions while increasingly pandering to woke activists," Hawley said in a statement. "It's time to take away Disney's special privileges and open up a new era of creativity and innovation."

The Hill has reached out to Disney for comment.

After lobbying from Disney, Congress passed a law in 1998 that extended copyright protections for corporations, giving them ownership for 95 years from original publication or 120 years from creation. The law was dubbed the Mickey Mouse Protection Act.

The Copyright Clause Restoration Act limits copyrighted material to 28 years and allows owners to apply for one additional 28-year extension. Since the law would be applied retroactively, Hawley said that "Disney would begin to lose protections for some of its oldest and most valuable copyrights."

Disney has recently acquired some of the most iconic and expansive characters and universes, including Star Wars, Marvel and 21st Century Fox.

Hawley introducing measure to strip Disney of copyright protections

[djAdvocate]

not a huge fan of Disney.
even less a fan of Hawley.