Author of Be Ready for Anything and Bloom Where You’re Planted online course
Just when you thought the world of free speech couldn’t get more draconian, a bill that proves you wrong appears in the Florida Congress. Sen. Jason Brodeur (R) created a sweeping bill that would require bloggers who write about any government official to register with the state.
(Okay, I’m kidding. We all knew things were going downhill and bound to get worse. This is definitely worse, though.)
The very idea that, in the United States of America, one would need to register with the government to talk about the government is profoundly, deeply, and disturbingly un-American.
What does SB:1315 say?
Here’s what would happen. Bloggers must continuously update the state on how much money they made on any articles mentioning government officials. If the bill were to pass, failure to register and update the state about compensation will result in daily fines.
SB:1315: Information Dissemination targets bloggers specifically. For a small, one-person blog that covers politics, the paperwork would be so onerous as to put them out of business. I guess a blogger must’ve written something about Sen. Brodeur and hurt his feelings enough he wrote an entire law about it.
Here’s some of the verbiage:
- requiring bloggers to register with the Office of Legislative Services or the Commission on Ethics, as applicable, within a specified timeframe;
- requiring such bloggers to file monthly reports with the appropriate office by a certain date; providing an exception;
- specifying reporting requirements;
- authorizing a magistrate to enter a final order determining the reasonableness of circumstances for an untimely filing or a fine amount;
- requiring that the Legislature and the Commission on Ethics adopt a specified rule; providing penalties for late filing;
- prohibiting the assessment of a fine for the first time a report is not timely filed, under specified conditions;
- authorizing bloggers to appeal a fine within a specified timeframe
- specifying the appeal process; authorizing bloggers to request that the appropriate office waive the reporting requirement under specified conditions;
- providing that unpaid fines for a specified timeframe may be recovered through the courts of this state; providing an effective date.
There’s more, but that’s the gist of it.
Another attack on free speech
First things first, please note that the sponsor of this bill is a Republican. People are always ready to point fingers at the Democrats for offenses against the 1st Amendment (and with good cause, which we’ll discuss in a moment). But it’s really a government problem, not a party problem. Almost everyone in government would like to shut us up and prevent us from questioning their narratives.
Attention, Florida: Senator Brodeur has just shown you what he thinks of a free press and free speech. You’ll probably want to remember this nonsense at re-election time in 2024. Is this really the person you want to represent you? I’m flummoxed by the entire thing.
We need to forget choosing the lesser of two evils. Choose better. We can do better than this. We deserve a country that abides by the Constitution, and we should demand it.
This bill comes to light right as the hits start piling up on GDI, the Global Disinformation Index.
The Global Disinformation Index is a British-based non-profit group that previously received $665,000 from the Global Engagement Center and National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a State Department-backed group, while it was overseeing censorship of “conspiracy theories” about COVID-19.
One of these conspiracy theories was the notion that COVID-19 originated from a lab leak in Wuhan, which GDI claimed had “been fact-checked and proven untrue.”
GDI abused its influence to pressure Big Tech firms like Google to cut advertising from conservative websites that pushed the lab leak theory, placing them on a secret blacklist called a “dynamic exclusion list” in an effort to put them out of business.
The group targeted firms that were “providing ad revenue streams to known disinformation sites peddling coronavirus conspiracies.”
Incidentally, this US-govt-sponsored entity is the one that caused The Organic Prepper website to be defunded three years ago. They tried valiantly to silence us and destroy this business. (On that note, please consider sponsoring us on Patreon for as little as $5 per month.) We were attacked again by another platform, Newsguard, who downgraded us because I refused to update articles with untruths. Incidentally, every single thing we were called out for reporting has turned out to be true.
This isn’t the first anti-free-speech attack in Florida.
As much as I like(d) Florida Governor DeSantis, it’s concerning to me that he advocated for another bill in the Florida House of Representatives that would make it easier to sue the press for defamation.
HB 991: Defamation, False Light, and Unauthorized Publication of Name or Likenesses is currently on the table. Here’s the official synopsis:
Provides that journalist’s privilege does not apply to defamation claims when defendant is professional journalist or media entity; revises provisions concerning venue for certain actions; provides for attorney fees & costs to prevailing plaintiffs in certain actions; specifies certain persons may not be considered public figures; provides certain allegations are defamatory per se; provides statutory damages to prevailing plaintiffs who are subject of such allegations; creates presumption that statement by anonymous source is presumptively false; provides public figure does not need to show actual malice to prevail in defamation action.
This appears to target legacy media as opposed to bloggers, but the chilling effect on reporting would be the same. Another concerning factor in this bill is that journalists would no longer be protected for refusing to name anonymous sources.
This is given me second thoughts about the suitability of DeSantis for President, but he could still prove me wrong.
Gosh. I hope I don’t get sued for saying that.
UPDATE: Governor DeSantis has denounced the blogger bill, saying, “It’s not anything I’ve ever supported.”
Will the anti-blogger bill pass?
I think (hope) this ridiculous drivel is unlikely to pass. Brodeur is the only sponsor of the bill and the only person with his name on it. While others in the Florida Senate may or may not wish for a financial muzzle to be placed on members of the alternative media, they’re not so brazen as to announce that they want to stomp all over the First Amendment like the rather incomparable Sen. Brodeur.
There’s a serious problem in the Florida legislature right now, though, for all these anti-free-speech bills to be presented.
When free speech dies, free thought dies.
Alternative media is the last hope for honest journalism and commentary. Sure, we have advertisers, but they don’t call the shots as they do with the MSM. We’re in business to make money, but we’re also independent by nature, or we wouldn’t be doing what we’re doing. Trust me, it would never be worth the hassle if we didn’t firmly believe we were making a difference.
Way back in 2018, when Alex Jones first began to be deplatformed, I said that you didn’t have to like or support Jones to be concerned about the ramifications of this. Silence one person in the alternative media, and you open the door to silencing all of us.
And that appears to be exactly what they’re trying to do.
What do you think about the assault on free speech?
Do you find the bills in Florida to be concerning? Are you worried about the future of free speech and alternative media? Are you surprised that it’s a Republican sponsoring this bill? Or, alternatively, do you think these measures are reasonable?
Let’s discuss it in the comments.
Hat tip to Brian Duff of Mind4Survival.com
About Daisy
Daisy Luther is a coffee-swigging, adventure-seeking, globe-trotting blogger. She is the founder and publisher of three websites. 1) The Organic Prepper, which is about current events, preparedness, self-reliance, and the pursuit of liberty; 2) The Frugalite, a website with thrifty tips and solutions to help people get a handle on their personal finances without feeling deprived; and 3) PreppersDailyNews.com, an aggregate site where you can find links to all the most important news for those who wish to be prepared. Her work is widely republished across alternative media and she has appeared in many interviews.
Daisy is the best-selling author of 5 traditionally published books, 12 self-published books, and runs a small digital publishing company with PDF guides, printables, and courses at SelfRelianceand Survival.com You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Gab, MeWe, Parler, Instagram, and Twitter.
cant believe FL would allow something like this…just goes to show yu that republicans are just as bad as dimrats! WE THE PEOPLE have rights and free speech and thinking is one of them, we CANNOT allow congress or anyone to take away these rights. if WE THE PEOPLE dont stand up now and fight, we’re in a heap of trouble, and we’re headed that way real fast! stand together NOW to fight for our freedoms, they are disappearing every minute!!!
LMAO.. he and those of his ilk must be “protected” at all costs. Doubt if the yo-yo even realizes what he’s proposing. Regardless, if the brain dead pass it, I’ll start blogging about Duh-Santis and other flo-i-duh officials. Come and get me.
Bye freedom. Is it a surprise. Is fascism here now. The first thing to go is women’s rights, i.e. reproductive choices. Then they target minority groups, as in 1930s Germany when trans people were targeted, one of the smallest groups that can.be found. Now freedom of speech is slowly eroded. They came for the socialists, I wasn’t one.and said nothing, etc. Then they came for me. I’m not surprised it was from repubs that this came . 28 percent of Americans identify as republican, 28 percent of Americans as democrats
a full 41 percent of Americans identify as independent and don’t really appreciate either party. Think about it.
Women have not lost their reproductive rights.
There are still plenty of options for birth control. There are programs for low economic households to get birth control for free. Abortion is not the only answer.
No one is targeting trans people. People just dont think it is appropriate for a six year old to attend a drag queen show. Or have explicit pornography in elementary schools. Or a teacher trying to get per-pubescent school children to question their own sexuality when they do not even understand the concept of sex. Those children still believe in Santa Clause.
Fact is, there are two sexes at birth. Not 97 of them. When you are eighteen years of age, and want to “trans,” as a then informed consenting adult, by all means. Do not prey upon teens going through normal hormonal puberty, and push them into chemical castration, removal of normal sex organs through surgery, or puberty blockers. Teens need to go through puberty to develop both physically and mentally into their early adult years.
I am a registered Independent. Always have been.
The Democrat party has been taken over by extremists. Look at all the traditional liberal Democrat’s whom are calling out this extremism.
At this point, the Republicans look normal or sane, compared to the hijacked Democrat party.
Think about it.
Preach! Agree completely.
1st Marine Jarhead, you are always the voice of reason. I am soooo grateful for your contributions to this forum.
Unconstitutional restriction of free speech. if it doesnt apply to newsprint, it doesnt apply to weblogs. Legally it doesnt hold water. This RINO has to be voted out!
Given the amount of votescam, this “republican” who is about as republican as Nancy Pelosi, needs to lose his primary by at least 90%.
Since I don’t have an extra $5 per month for your Patreon channel, you are holding me back from most likely public information I probably need to know. How about $1 a month?
I use to live in FL, voted for DeSantis, but local and state politics are, as we see, one sided. Most mean well; however, there are the “select few” that feel entitled to go way to far. Definitely holds true in most government structures of any party.
Hi! It’s the same content on Patreon. 🙂 It’s simply ad-free and a way to support the website. If you read this site and are an email subscriber, you aren’t missing anything.
Well now I’m confused. Unless he’s playing offense? Is he wanting the left to suddenly fight FOR freedom of speech & he’s playing their game? I dunno…can’t wait to hear everyone’s opinion with this one.
I am quite tired of Republicans rolling over & turning the other cheek while we get bull dozed over so I’d like to think he’s playing their game & ultimately doesn’t believe in stripping the first amendment from us but calling their bluff.
There are actually TWO state level anti-free speech bills floating at the moment….
The aforementioned bill in Florida, and a much WORSE one in Washington state.
All I can say? You get what you vote for….
I don’t think DeSantis would be dumb enough to touch this one! This would be a huge black eye on a very outstanding 1st term!
It doesn’t matter whether republican or democrat. It seems they are all profiting from their position and represent big money and themselves. There may be a few good eggs, there’s always an exception. But thank you for pointing this out. If this passed every politician in every state would likely jump on board and do the same. This bill should be hung out to dry and very publicly so they all know if they align with it, they’ll lose support of their constituents. I would like to know if it did pass and no one paid, will they imprison people? Political prisoners…this rep sounds like a real tool. Thanks Daisy!
The authorities already have our info but any time bureaucrats demand people to “register” something (or for something), a big bright red light pops up. It means they’re trying to classify the population. Another big red flag.
The Florida first amendment foundation has a few choice words about this fiasco and its impact.
https://floridafaf.org/hb991-bad-for-florida-bad-for-america/
The senator is from Floridas 9th district, Seminole county, next door to Citrus where Orlando is.
If this passes, what next? He was just reelected. Its a scary precedent.
These kind of bills are not surprising. Politicians hate being kept accountable for their actions. Free Speech has always been a thorn in their side.
The bigger ramifications is whether they will try to stretch a bill like this to include those who live outside of their State.
BTW the time to remove people like this from office is as soon as they try something like this, not at the next election. This is what recalls of elected politicians is all about.
Though Florida is one of many states that do not allow recalls of State or of the state’s federal congressional office holders.
As far as DeSantis goes, he is a Rino and a Swamp Creature in Disguise. He plays the Conservative. But Conservative candidates are not supported by the likes of Soros or by other Rino’s, like the Bush family. So beware, you are being Duped.
Gov. DeSantis was doing a rally the other day, on stage with – Jeb Bush. Swamp much?
DeSantis is just another Globalist puppet. Go to healthimpactnews dot com and search DeSantis for some well researched proof of that.
Why is the left always berating him then if he’s a Rhino? Do explain. Just want to keep my eyes open.
There is no “precedent” here.
The bill will not only not pass, it will never even come to the floor. Even if it has already been referred to committee, it will never be reported out. This is a tempot in a teapest. This clown is just grandstanding for some reason that makes sense in the context of Florida politics. But it IS a sign of the times; that is certainly true.
HERE is the problem:
“We need to forget choosing the lesser of two evils. Choose better. We can do better than this. We deserve a country that abides by the Constitution, and we should demand it.”
That sort of muddle-headed “thinking” is precisely what got us to the point at which we now find ourselves. It simply is not possible to have both civil society (in which very few things are political) and democracy (meaning “universal suffrage”) at the same time, because “democracy” *nessearily* means that *everything* is political. If you don’t grasp even that elementary fact, then you are just sitting ducks for the Commies and Fascists to pick off, and you richly deserve whatever happens to you. “Democracy” is what brought us to this sorry pass, so the “solution” can NEVER be MORE DEMOCRACY.
Don’t be stupid.
For those with any common sense and common decency remaining, keep your powder dry. The clock is ticking. Civil upheaval is right around the corner. I’ll say that May will be a month to remember.
There are progressive republicans, too. One need not believe in communism or socialism or fascism, can even decry all of them yet still advance that agenda—total government control of everything. When gov’t controls everything it’s communism…no matter what you call it. Gov’t is like having a ravening beast as watchdog [gov’t supposedly guarding against infringement of our rights]. But if allowed to grow beyond our restraints…the watchdog becomes our own demise.
TOXIC bill?
First clause strips journalists of the crucial right to confidential sources:
“creates presumption that statement by anonymous source is presumptively false;”
Second clause gifts public figures with ability to muzzle journalists by threatening & easily penalizing:
“provides public figure does not need to show actual malice to prevail in defamation action”
I’m so much more comfortable living in Colombia.
I am much more comfortable living in Thailand, I am from Virginia and have been living here for 18 years. I miss my home state but not the government – federal mostly. I am 68 and these times are bad.
Hey organic shiiit prepper …Moron , MODERATION IS CENSORSHIP ..GO SUCK gLOBALIST DICK , YOU sODOMITE
I’m not risking my business so you can incite the murder of a politician.
mODERATE MEANS , I WILL NEVER RETURN TO THIS CENSORSHIP SITE
Gosh, we’ll really miss you. You seemed so nice.
It is really sad when people act that way. I enjoy having nice talks with people, whether we agree on the topic at hand or not. And they respond in kind – meaning polite. His is the only response that has been so violent. Keep writing your articles Daisy, whether I agree with them or not I will always learn something and that is what I want to do. Thank you.
I believe if you take a closer look at this legislation you’ll see it’s to identify income sources for bloggers who speak critically of government officials. If there’s no income involved say what you want, if you’re paid by George Soros or the CCP to attack politicians in a Blog, that would be good to know.
Friendly debate:
I think that’s unreasonable. I should be able to earn money to pay for the high costs of running a website and to pay myself a living wage, and it’s nobody’s business what amount I earn.
Nor is it any one’s business who you get it from. As long as you pay your federal, state, and local taxes, it is none my business.
That’s actually fascism. It’s funny how the right wants registration for things like this, but not for guns. ( Btw I’m for the 2nd amendment, just not to the point of chaos.).
Registration is a 20th Century thing as well as regulation. If they want guns registered why not Bows and Arrows – Cross Bow is very deadly – Knives, Spears, Muskets, Kentucky Long Rifles, etc. Chaos is present in countries where guns aren’t permitted such as the UK where people are stabbed or in China the same thing. Banning of Knives in the UK is trying to be implemented now.
I’m new here, Daisy, saw this article as reposted at Sons of Liberty. Liked it, wanted to appreciate you for it, and encourage you to Keep Up the Good Work.
Thank you and welcome! It’s nice to meet you!
This is concerning for sure. Do you have other ideas for how to address a legacy media that can lie flat out about evidence against a President? How do we keep political bloggers from being paid to gaslight and spread misinformation? During Covid there was a lockdown on anyone who wrote ANYTHING the questioned the narrative. During the 4 years of the previous Presidency legacy media repeated ad nauseum that there was strong evidence against him. None of this turned out to be true. Yet no one is charged or sued for slander…. I don’t agree that this bill is the answer but I’d like to hear other ideas rather than just attacks.
Don’t believe everything, check it out and then post it on that website with the links, Hillary wanted only the Government to check the accuracy of the information and no one else – meaning they would look at it before it was posted and if they didn’t like it they wouldn’t post it. There are many sites that do post misinformation but also many sites that post truthful information, it is up to us to determine which is which not those in Government. Just my opinion
Isaac if you have a handy guide on “how to tell which blogger is taking money to spread mis-information” I’d be happy to have it. As it is our own government was paying social media to censor stories they knew to be true. The ONLY reason we know this now is that a billionaire bought one of those companies and showed us the books. There are over 300 million people in this country alone and they’ve not been educated to think for themselves or do their own research. But they still vote and their votes effect those of us who do have the ability to think. Combine that with an out of control government…. It took 3 years for our government to admit Covid was created by a Chinese lab. They still aren’t really owning up to the fact that that lab was financed at least in part by US dollars through Fauci. We’ve eroded our rights drastically and most people I know either don’t care or still think I need to take my tin foil hat off. How do we fight that?
DeSantis has denounced this bill. Thank God!
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/florida-legislator-proposes-state-registry-bloggers
I’m SO relieved to hear that.
I hope this doesn’t pass, it shouldn’t since it directly violates the 1st Amendment, but it might give ideas to those in Congress and perhaps the President, if not this one then perhaps the next. The only time I read about this was the Alien and Sedition Act by President Adams and the Congress of that time. A very good article, thank you.