Via the New York Post:
A Republican Florida state senator has proposed a bill that would require paid bloggers who cover Gov. Ron DeSantis, his cabinet or lawmakers to register with the state or face steep fines.
State Sen. Jason Brodeur’s Senate Bill 1316 would also force bloggers to disclose who is paying them to write about Florida’s elected officials and how much they are pulling in.
The bill defines “elected state officer” as “the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, a Cabinet officer, or any member of the Legislature.”
It defines a blog as “a website or webpage that hosts any blogger and is frequently updated with opinion, commentary or business content.”
The proposed legislation would not apply to newspapers’ websites and other similar publications.
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Lest I am accused of citing a leftist smear campaign against red Florida or whatever, here’s the official bill. It reads as it has been described in the media.
The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Jason Brodeur (R-10th district), justified his bill thusly, by likening paid bloggers to lobbyists:
Paid bloggers are lobbyists who write instead of talk. They both are professional electioneers. If lobbyists have to register and report, why shouldn’t paid bloggers?
This is, to put it mildly, a strained analogy. The right was rightfully outraged when slay queen Jen Psaki was leaning on social media giants to censor COVID-19 truth on behalf of her partners at Pfizer. It shouldn’t tolerate this nonsense from Brodeur, either, just because Florida is red and DeSantis is popular.
The First Amendment, which is sacrosanct, should be non-negotiable, regardless of which party is attempting to trample on it.
