The Florida Roundup - Rep. Wasserman Schultz, free speech on social media, school phone bans, NIL deals and Florida Olympians

Episode Date: July 26, 2024

This week on The Florida Roundup, we spoke with U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-FL-25th about presidential politics and the new direction for the Democratic Party (01:25). Then, we spoke with Craig Waters with the Florida Center for Government Accountability about regulating free speech on social media (21:30) and reviewed a recent SCOTUS decision on a Florida social media law with Rebecca Klar, reporter for The Hill (34:44). And later, we went around the news of the week including cell phone bans in schools (37:28), NIL deals for high school athletes (39:14), Olympians from Florida heading to Paris (41:45) and the southernmost property for sale (46:50).

This is the Florida Roundup. I'm Tom Hudson. Hope you've had a great week so far. The deadline for a Democrat to declare their intention to run for the White House is Saturday night. That's the new timeline that was triggered by President Joe Biden's announcement that he is pulling out of the presidential race. Vice President Kamala Harris has officially entered the race at the top of the ticket, race. Vice President Kamala Harris has officially entered the race at the top of the ticket, and she is expected to be the official nominee next week under the rules okayed this week by the Democratic National Committee. All of this, of course, marks a sudden and historic turn in presidential politics. Now, many of us probably learned about President Biden's decision on social media. After all, that's exactly where he released his statement and endorsement of the vice president. Now, later on in this program this hour, we'll be talking

about social media and a Florida law that limits how much social media platforms can regulate users and messages. A Supreme Court decision this summer did not settle the question if the law violates the First Amendment. How do you depend on social media, especially for news or opinion during this election cycle? Probably mostly opinion on social media. Should social media sites like X, YouTube, and Facebook be able to censor your speech? You can email us now, radio at thefloridaroundup.org. Our inbox is open, radio at thefloridaroundup.org, and we'll read your emails a little bit later on in this program. First up, though, presidential politics, the process for Democrats to choose a candidate,

and Israel's prime minister visits a former president in Florida. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is with us, Democratic congresswoman representing Florida's 25th congressional district. Congresswoman, welcome back to Public Radio. Nice to have you. Thank you so much. Great to be with you again. The day President Biden announced his withdrawal from the campaign, you told our colleagues at NPR that you've supported Joe Biden since his first presidential campaign in 1988 when you were a student at the University of Florida. Do you think he has the stamina and mental acuity today to serve another term if he stayed in the race? I do. I think President Biden, and that this will bear out through history, has been the most consequential accomplished president in modern times. He's a man of character and conscience, and that is exactly what America needed, needs right now, and Donald Trump will never be. His decision to pass the torch to the next generation to be the standard bearer of our party

was a historic moment of leadership and of selflessness. And look, I was sad to see him step aside. He's been such a good president, but I couldn't be more proud of the job he's done and that he will continue to do, and the courage that he showed to pass the torch to Vice President Harris. Did you speak with the president prior to his public announcement last weekend? I spoke to the president about a week before that. What was your counsel, if you could share that with us? before that. What was your counsel, if you could share that with us?

You know, that conversation was, you know, before he had made the decision to step aside, and, you know, he called me and we had a conversation just about his leadership and the agenda going forward, and I encouraged him to carry on the incredible job that he'd done. And, you know, like I said, I think he was very certain that he was prepared to continue, but also could sense that it was important to make sure that we could really have the energy injected into the campaign that Passing the Torch to the Next Generation has obviously provided, because the reaction to Vice President Harris's candidacy has been electric. We've literally had hundreds of thousands of people, supporters, coming on grassroots phone calls. 100,000 volunteers have committed historic fundraising in grassroots donations in 24-hour periods. The excitement has been immense. And I want to ask you about the

Vice President coming up in a moment, but just back to the current President and your long relationship with President Biden. How do you understand, Congresswoman, the forces that gathered against President Biden staying in the race? You know, this is not the time for analyzing the process that led to his decision to step down. I did not agree with my colleagues that were urging that to happen. I really think that both the record that President Biden had accomplished alongside Vice President Harris and also his continued ability to build on those successes was evident. But this was a decision that I know Joe Biden, This was a decision that I know Joe Biden, and I know he made this decision to put his country over himself. And he has always been concerned, always been thoughtful about what was best for our nation.

And I think even though he felt that he could move forward, I think he also understood that there were advantages to passing the torch to the next generation. There has been some focus, lots of focus, really, on the process, of course, and not just the process of the decision-making by President Biden, but also the decision-making by the Democratic National Committee, an organization that you once chaired. By this time next week, the vice president may be the Democratic presidential nominee less than two weeks after President Biden stepped aside from his campaign. Republicans have criticized this process as undemocratic. How do you answer those criticisms? We have a process in the Democratic Party and the Democratic National Committee, just like the Republicans do. When you go through the primaries across our country and you win a majority of the delegates,

then you become the presumptive nominee. And it is not until the delegates vote in advance of or at the Democratic National convention that a candidate becomes the nominee and you saw that during the republican national convention mean that is a and and the convention themselves are places where nominations are accepted

uh... and and made and in the content that's what that the process that we're going through. We have delegates that were elected and have the ability to cast their support, to reflect the sentiments of their supporters. And that's why Kamala Harris so overwhelmingly and quickly won the support of a majority of our convention's delegates, both because President Biden has the trust and confidence in her and endorsed her immediately, and because she has the track record and the experience of having achieved the historic accomplishments that this administration made, reducing the cost of prescription drugs,

passing the most significant gun safety reform in 30 years, making sure that we could cut insulin costs to $35 a month. These are historic achievements that Kamala Harris was a part of, and our delegates recognize that. Congresswoman, the criticism, of course, though, is that a year ago, President Biden and the Democratic Party kind of cleared the path for the president to be the nominee for the party here for his reelection. And after the scheduled primaries have happened and he gathered those votes, he now has stepped aside. And of course, now there's a process where those delegates and superdelegates have pledged. What's your message, though, to Florida Democrats who did not vote for President Biden because there was no presidential primary here in the state?

I'm not sure what you mean by cleared the path. There were candidates that had an opportunity to run, and each state makes decisions based on the ballot access rules, which our state party did, just like state parties. It's a bit of an arcane process, but every state party submits a delegate selection plan and submits a plan for how they are going to conduct their primary. In some cases, that's done at a state convention. conduct their primary. In some cases, that's done at a state convention. In our state, we do it in a primary, and there are ballot access qualification requirements, and the candidate that met those requirements was President Biden. So, I mean, we have rules that we've followed based on plans

that were submitted and approved by the Democratic National Committee. That's exactly what happened, and there was nothing other than the process that is put in place that was followed. We're speaking with Democrats. But more importantly, much more importantly, you have delegates that were elected to represent President Biden's candidacy at the convention. Vice President Harris ran right alongside him. Both candidates' names are on the ballot. And so, of course, it makes the most sense that our delegates would overwhelmingly decide to support Vice President Harris now that President Biden has withdrawn his candidacy. And you've been quick to endorse the Vice President in her candidacy. You did so the

same day that President Biden made his announcement. Why do you think she is the best Democratic candidate? She is the best Democratic candidate because, as I said, she has been right alongside President Biden, helping to adopt the most historic, significant agenda that we've had in modern times. I mean, we have been able to, under their leadership, reduce the cost of prescription drugs for our seniors, cap out-of-pocket costs for seniors, ensure that you have $35 a month insulin. Pass the most significant investment in infrastructure that creates jobs and is rebuilding roads and bridges. And we have $13 billion that has come into the state of Florida alone just from the Infrastructure Investment Act. Making sure that through the Inflation Reduction Act we have historic investment in climate change

and ensuring that we can mitigate the impacts of that. Reshoring the manufacture of computer chips to the United States so that our jobs and those chips can be manufactured here. That is an agenda that is second to none. And you contrast that with when Kamala Harris is on the ballot versus Donald Trump, who is a 34-count convicted felon who's an adjudicated rapist, and unlike Kamala Harris, who put people in prison, belongs in prison himself. We're speaking with Democratic Congresswoman from Florida, Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Congresswoman, in her 2020 presidential campaign, many of the vice president's policies

were seen as catering to the more progressive wing of the Democratic Party, such as her support or voice support back then, four years ago, banning fracking, supporting a Medicare for all health care insurance option while in the Senate, a tax proposal that offered cash payments to many middle class households, for instance. How do you think her positions have evolved as she's been vice president for four years now and how they resonate with more traditional Democrats here in Florida and the continually important NPAs, the non-party affiliate voters? the vice president who has served as a partner with President Biden in the White House and has been a significant part of not only proposing, but helping to push through the Congress as a former U.S. senator herself, push through those proposals through the Congress. So because we

have seen a record number of jobs, Nearly 16 million jobs have been created through the efforts of President Biden and Vice President Harris. And we have an economy right now that although inflation is still stubborn in many places, we have an economy that is the envy of the world. We have had the ability to make sure that we have the lowest unemployment rate in modern times as well, in about 50 years. And her focus and her priorities are really aligned with President Biden's. And so

when you look at the agenda and the record of accomplishment, that is a projection of what voters can expect. And when you look at what Donald Trump is proposing to make sure that tax cuts are handed out, again, to the wealthiest billionaires and millionaires, to propose avenging his enemies, implement Project 25's proposals, which would be a nationwide abortion ban, cutting Social Security and Medicare, and shutting down our borders and

engaging in mass deportation. That contrast is one that I think voters are going to be clear that they want to continue the progress that we've been made under President Biden and Vice President Harris. Congresswoman, let me take advantage of our time with you, and thank you for that, to ask you about Israel. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Congress this week in Washington, a rare joint session. You walked with the Prime Minister as he made his way to that joint session. What did you speak about with him? I had an opportunity in my greeting Prime Minister Netanyahu to make sure that I stressed how important it is to bring this peace deal, the opportunity to bring the hostages home and begin to end the hostilities

and the threat that Hamas represents on the doorstep, the terrorist threat that Hamas represents on the doorstep of Israel, to a close, and urge him to help make sure that we can bring those negotiations to a conclusion. I was glad to hear him talk about in his remarks about the necessity for civilian governance in Gaza to demilitarize and de-radicalize that governance in Gaza. And it's just going to be absolutely critical that we bring the hostages home, that we end the terrorist threat that lives on Israel's doorstep, and that we ensure that we can free Gaza from the terrorist threat of Hamas and ensure that Palestinian

civilians there live a life of freedom. How confident are you in Netanyahu's commitment to negotiating a peace deal for Gaza? Well, I am certainly hopeful that he will not listen to the extreme right flank in his coalition, because if he does, then I would be left unhopeful. But at this moment, thanks to President Biden and Vice President Harris's efforts, we have a deal that is substantially complete, that as described to me is on the 10-yard line, and that we really have just a few more things to be ironed out. I certainly understand why the Prime Minister wants to ensure that in the phases of the deal, if they're not adhered to, that Israel has the ability to go back in and ensure that they can defend

themselves. But we do also need to make sure we have aid Americans through either remains or living hostages that we must bring home, as well as the others. We have families who are just in agony. I met with more families again this week, as I have over many months. It's just critical that we make sure that we can end the hostilities, get the hostages home, and rebuild Gaza in a demilitarized and de-radicalized fashion, along with the Arab allies, so that we can end the terrorist threat

on Israel's border. Prime Minister Netanyahu is in Florida today, not too far from your district, meeting with the former president, President Trump. Do you think it's appropriate for a sitting head of state to meet with a former one? I mean, I think that that's a pretty typical thing to do. You have President Zelensky from Ukraine who spoke with former President Trump by phone. I don't think that that is inappropriate, given that he's in the country. I certainly hope and would expect that the prime minister not involve himself in domestic politics and not demonstrate in any way a preference, because making sure that Israel is always able to remain bipartisan support is critical.

That bipartisan support is overwhelming, as evidenced by the votes that have been cast in support and in condemnation of Hamas' attacks in support of Israel and funding we've provided. So I would certainly hope that this is just a meeting that is going to ensure that those relationships are maintained, which is understandable. Congresswoman, I have one more question that I'd like to ask you, and I got about 60 seconds left here. The U.S. House this week voted to create a bipartisan task force to investigate the attempted assassination attempt on former President Trump. What's your interest in serving on that committee? Oh, I have a pretty full plate as a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, so I am not

expressing interest in serving on that committee. I sit on the select committee, on the subcommittee on the weaponization of the federal government as well, and as a member of the Democratic leadership. So I know that we have really excellent, top-quality colleagues on my side of the aisle who will be able to do a fantastic job. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Democratic Congresswoman from South Florida, and the former chair of the Democratic National Committee. Congresswoman, always a pleasure. Thanks so much for your time. Thank you so much. We got plenty more to come here on the Florida Roundup, including dissecting the Supreme

Court decision, or lack thereof when it comes to clarity, with a very controversial social media law that was passed by Florida lawmakers a few years ago. Now, let's face it. Let's be honest. We all use social media, certainly for some news, likely some opinion. And in this election year, how are you relying on social media? How are you using social media? How do you expect to use social media going forward? We want to hear from you. Our email is open, radio at thefloridaroundup.org,

radio at thefloridaroundup.org. How comfortable are you in social media deciding who and what gets said on those platforms? 305-995-1800. This is the Florida Roundup. I'm Tom Hudson. We want to let you know about an upcoming program. Like a lot of Floridians this summer, we're hitting the road. Now, in our case, that road will be the overseas highway in the Florida Keys. The Florida Roundup will be live from Key West August 9th. Now, we may be leaving the mainland, but we will still be talking about Sunshine State politics.

We'll talk with the leading Democrat running for U.S. Senate, Debbie Mercosel Powell, about her race against Senator Rick Scott, the economy, and the race for the White House. If you're around, we'd love to see you there live in Key West August 9th. You can register at WLRN.org. New ground. That's how Governor Ron DeSantis described legislation three years ago that aimed to ban social media platforms like X, Facebook, and others from kicking users off

their platforms and making it tougher for them to control who can post what. It was the first of its kind at the time, coming a year after the COVID-19 pandemic began and months after President Trump was removed from social media networks after the January 6th riot at the U.S. Capitol. Here's Governor DeSantis in June of 2021 after the law passed and faced a lawsuit. I think most people in our state, and I think probably throughout the country for that matter, are uncomfortable with having a handful of massive companies basically being in charge of regulating the political speech in this country and being able to choose what people can say, what orthodoxies are okay, what aren't. The lawsuit over Florida's social media law wound up

going to the U.S. Supreme Court with the law from Texas. This summer, the Supreme Court punted on a definitive decision about whether social media platforms have the right to censor who is on and what is posted on their sites. So much of how we learn and talk about politics is on social media, right? Well, in this election year, how much do you depend on social media? And should sites like X, YouTube, and Facebook be able to censor what's on those platforms, including your speech? Call us now, 305-995-1800, 305-995-1800, or email us your thoughts, radio at thefloridaroundup.org. Craig Waters is the former communications director of the Florida Supreme Court, and now he's general counsel of the Florida Center for Government Accountability. Craig, thank you for your time today. You have lived and worked at a very interesting intersection between media, journalism, news,

and the Supreme Court in the case of Florida here. Should social media platforms be allowed to police the speech that users post on their platforms? Some degree of policing, I think, is absolutely essential so that social media platforms are not rendered unusable because of all of the bad things that would be posted otherwise. I've watched social media when it developed, and I also got involved with the web when it first came along in the early 1990s. I was on there very early, and I watched some of the experiments that went on where people tried to maintain unlimited openness, and it

quickly descends into chaos. That's just what happens when you have something that's open to millions and now billions and billions of people. You can't let everybody speak at the same time. Otherwise, the platform itself is rendered unusable. And it's not so much the volume of voices or the number of voices, right? It's who they are and what they're saying, or in this case, writing or posting. Should social media platforms be compelled to carry those voices or words, similar to how the Florida law is constructed? Well, keep in mind that when we're dealing with the big social media platforms, these are private companies. I hear a lot of talk about the First Amendment doesn't allow Facebook to do this. Well, the First Amendment does not apply the same way to Facebook because Facebook is a private company. And certainly if a governmental unit is using Facebook, that raises issues that would not otherwise exist. I was very well aware of that when I maintained the Florida Supreme Court's social media.

I was always aware that as a governmental representative, I had to adhere to First Amendment standards. But Facebook as a private company is not quite the same. because of the role that they play in the proverbial town square here in the 21st century, that they ought not to be able to censor or deplatform a user for his or her speech. Right. And of course, that's what the Florida statute that was at issue in this particular Supreme Court case was aimed at. And of course, the history is important here because the statutes that were taken to the U.S. Supreme Court from both Florida and Texas arose after President Trump was deplatformed because of some of the things that he had done that allegedly violated the community standards of the platforms.

And primarily it was because of his speech on and after January 6th and the riot at the U.S. Capitol. Exactly. The severity of that particular issue certainly raised a different magnitude of legal issue that I think social media were right to consider. That just sort of underscores the ability that there has to be some sort of moderation going on here if we are to prevent social media from descending into a lawless Wild West atmosphere. They have to be curated in order to work properly. And curate is the word that you see used over and over again in this particular U.S. Supreme Court decision that just came out. The decision ruled that social media platforms deserve protections like newspapers,

but social media platforms are not responsible, Craig, as you know, for what they publish. Newspapers, public radio stations are responsible for what they air or what they publish. So how does that difference make what the Florida law does limit the ability to censor users the same or different as other forms of media. I mean, essentially, do you agree that social media is like a newspaper or is like a broadcast station? No, I don't think that they are. I think social media is something new under the sun when it first came along in the mid

2000s. Let me ask you, do you think it's like a telephone company? Because a telephone company is not responsible for what you and I may say to each other when we're talking over the phone. That is a very interesting point. And it goes back to something Justice Thomas keeps saying over and over. Clarence Thomas. He seems to think that social media are similar in some way to the telecommunications that existed previously, such as the telephone company. In the law, they're called common carriers. But there are some issues with that particular approach. I am not sure that Justice Thomas' approach makes sense. I mean, it's one thing if I'm on the phone and I call you up and I say something that's slanderous

or that encourages illegal activity or that is part of a criminal conspiracy, illegal activity or that is part of a criminal conspiracy, that's a different matter than if you post it on Facebook, where so many millions of other people potentially can see it. As you mentioned earlier, this effort in Florida began after President Trump was deplatformed from what was then called Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms. The former president has gone on to put his name on a social media platform called truth social, lots of Republicans, including Governor Ron DeSantis regularly favor the video service rumble now over YouTube, which is owned by alphabet, which is the Google

more commonly known as Google. So Craig, I'm curious, you know, what do you think about our own more robust marketplace today of the social media platforms? What does that mean for efforts of those same firms to moderate speech and to decide who gets to say what on their platforms? Well, first of all, I think it's a good thing to have competition in any kind of industry. You know, the positions of Google and Facebook are so enormous right now, that in itself is a problem. In Florida, it was mainly addressed at political speech, at politicians, political action committees, and that sort of thing. The Texas law that was at issue in this particular case was much broader. And in fact, I think if you read the United States Supreme Court decision in this case, it is really aimed

mainly at Texas and not as much at Florida. The U.S. Supreme Court certainly reversed both of the rulings here in Florida and in Texas, but it did that for a rather technical reason. Essentially, it argued that the entire kind of case has not been examined properly by the lower courts yet for the Supreme Court to opine on it. Right. The particular plaintiffs in this case, Net Choice and its affiliates, brought this as a challenge to this matter on its face, to these statutes on their face. That is a very different kind of creature in the law than when you sue because a statute has been applied to you in what you think is a harmful

way. It's very, very, very different. And the Supreme Court goes to great pains to stress that difference in this case. Craig, you began live streaming efforts for the Florida Supreme Court back in the late 1990s. You brought it to Facebook in 2018 via Facebook Live. How do you feel about a company generating revenue from video streams of government proceedings? I was perfectly fine with it. We did not have the resources to do that ourselves. There was no way we were going to have the resources. These private companies have sunk millions and millions and millions of dollars into making this technology work. And on top of that, we certainly believe that what happened in the Supreme Court of Florida was something the public

had a right to be aware of due to the public meetings and public records laws that existed in Florida. And so we decided that it was a great idea to use any kind of service, eventually even Facebook, that could distribute the live stream as broadly as possible. So looking back or even looking forward now, Craig, should Facebook or YouTube or any other live digital streaming platform be compelled to host court proceedings with the public in mind? We never had to deal with that because there was so much competition in mind? We never had to deal with that because there was so much competition to get a hold of those videos that no one really raised the issue. Maybe at some point there could be an issue if you decide to franchise only one particular entity, then it could be a problem. But I know that the

approach we took at the Florida Supreme Court when I was the communications director was we gave it to everybody. And allowed those companies to make decisions about whether or not they wanted to host it on their platforms. Right. If someone is profiting from that video, they are passing that cost onto their consumers. Craig Waters is the former communications director

of the Florida Supreme Court. He is a general counsel now for the Florida Center for Government Accountability. Craig, a pleasure. Thank you so much. Thank you. Laura has been listening in to our conversation from St. Pete Beach. Laura, go ahead. You're on the radio. Hi there. I think your speaker makes very valid points, and I believe that there should be some form of regulation when it comes to hate speech or violent, toxic violence, and also blatant lies.

I believe that it should be regulated. Yeah, and some of that speech on or off social media is regulated, certainly. Hate speech has some laws against it inciting violence. There's some laws around that. You know, untruths or falsehoods, lies, unless they're defamatory, that's a much different book of business right there. But, Laura, I appreciate you piping in there from St. Pete Beach. Hope you have a terrific weekend.

Richard is on the other coast in West Palm Beach. Go ahead, Richard. You're on the radio. Hey, good afternoon. I really appreciate a lot of the points that Mr. Waters brought up. I definitely believe that social media as a private entity has either freedom to allow this kind of discourse. I was a little surprised that with the conservative nature of the court, they didn't decide to pick up that case. But understanding the points upon with which Mr. Waters spoke, I can understand why they didn't. But it would set a really bad precedent if they did,

because, you know, like you said, it's a private company, and we have those rights to speak on it. When you're asking what were our approaches in this season, I am one of those people that has seen the ratchet up of AI and all kinds of bad actors who are putting out things online. And it's a little disheartening. And I think I'm going to be taking a little fast from some of those friends that I have. So I try to engage with people across all sides of the aisle.

But I prefer an honest and structured approach to conversation, something that's meaningful, as opposed to a lot of the rhetoric. Yeah, yeah. Richard, good luck with that, and check in with us through this election cycle to see how that's going there. I'll do my best. Yeah, appreciate you lending your voice to the conversation. Richard from West Palm Beach here. You are listening to The Florida Roundup from your Florida Public Radio station. Rebecca Klar is with us now, technology policy reporter in Washington, D.C. for the publication The Hill. Rebecca, great to have you along. You know, before we talk about some of the particulars of this case, how could this case impact what Floridians see in their social media feeds? Why should we be following along with this

case? Yeah, definitely. And thanks for having me on to talk about this. So, you know, I think that the actual laws that were, you know, under consideration by the Supreme Court, both in Florida and Texas, could have a lot of implications for everyday users. You know, basically they were saying that, arguing that the companies shouldn't be able to take control to ban users or ban content based on their own policies. So that would, you know, be able to impact users in terms of what they're posting, as well as what they're able to see on the platform. And, you know, they agree to the policies of these platforms when they sign on. So it would impact them in that way in terms of if they, you know, think that politicians should sort of get a different level of treatment. I think what was really at the core of these cases was the idea of NetChoice, a tech industry group that was

suing against Florida and Texas, saying that this really violated the platform's First Amendment rights as a company to decide what speech they want to host on their platform. Yeah, it was it's a bit of a complicated ruling and it kind of defers, you know, any final decision for some other court case, perhaps. But one of the many interesting things about this is on the day that the Supreme Court announced that it was essentially pushing this back down to the lower courts, both sides in Florida declared victory. The Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody tweeted, SCOTUS unanimously sides with Florida in the social media case.

And then NetChoice, the group that sued Ashley Moody in the state of Florida, tweeted that Net Choice secured important wins today. Is this a case where both sides won? Yeah, I mean, I guess you could see it as both sides winning or both sides not really making much progress. I think the Supreme Court basically took out the lower court's rulings on these two state laws and basically, instead of making a decision on the underlying laws, punted that decision back down to the lower court. I think one of the crucial parts of this is that there were lower courts that had ruled differently on both the Texas and Florida laws, which were very similar. So, you know, people were looking to the Supreme Court to make this ruling, and they decided

that it wasn't really ready for that. So I think that's definitely one reason why we see, you know, both sides really saying that they can take victory. I will say, you know, as this is going on from what the Supreme Court did, though, the law is not yet in effect. You know, users won't be able to see that. And Florida doesn't really have that end result of putting that law into effect. And so if the platforms do deplatform somebody or a politician, they're not going to face

the fines that are written into the Florida law. So what are the next steps with this case? Yeah, I think, you know, the next step is now looking back to the lower courts to seeing how they will address that. I think similarly, you know, with this case, as well as another case, we saw the Supreme Court has seemed a little bit reluctant maybe to rule on some of these issues as it relates to social media and tech companies as that space is evolving more. So I think looking into next year, people will be on the lookout for other cases that maybe would indicate how the Supreme Court may rule going forward on this. Yeah. One of those cases may come from Florida, a law that goes into effect very soon about social media restrictions for children 14 years old and younger and even 16 and 15 year olds in

Florida as well. So certainly have to watch this space, a developing area of jurisprudence that really affects everybody's social media stream these days. Rebecca, thanks for sharing your reporting with us from Capitol Hill. Much appreciated. Thanks for having me. Rebecca Klar is a technology policy reporter for the publication The Hill. Stick with us here on the Florida Roundup. Lots more to come. Speaking of social media, we're going to be talking about some reporting this week that continues around the use of cell phones for the next school year in public schools here

in Florida. That is still to come as you're listening to the Florida Roundup from your Florida Public Radio station. This is the Florida Roundup. I'm Tom Hudson. Thanks for being with us this week. Schools, Olympics, and an only in Florida real estate story coming up here in just a bit. Let's start in the classroom with education. Students in five of the 10 largest school districts in the state will begin the new school year without their cell phones. Broward and Hillsborough County schools have joined schools in Orange, Pinellas, and Pasco counties,

banning student mobile phones during the school day. Orange County made the change last year. This week, it was Broward and Hillsborough County school boards making similar decisions. So let's start with Nancy Guan from our partner station WUSF in Tampa. The new policy states that cell phones and other electronic devices cannot be used during class time without a teacher's permission. High schoolers will be allowed to use their phones during lunchtime, though, and students who need to monitor health or medical conditions are exempt from the policy as well. The new rules come after several meetings and workshops on the issue. Hillsborough County School Board member Lynn Gray says these limits are necessary

to help students focus more in the classroom. It's an addiction. These kids and adults are addicted. says these limits are necessary to help students focus more in the classroom. It's an addiction. These kids and adults are addicted, I'm sorry if some of us are, to the cell phone. Hillsborough's decision comes after Pinellas and Pasco County schools passed their own restrictions earlier this summer. The moves are part of an effort to comply with state laws on cell phone use. I'm Nancy Guan in Tampa. On Tuesday, the Broward County School Board was the latest to approve a cell phone ban for students. Alan Zeman is a board member. It's about us saying to students that we care so much about you, we don't want you to use these

harmful devices with these addictive tools on them, which cause you mental health problems. From school bell to school bell, phones will have to be in airplane mode unless a teacher tells students otherwise. So students won't be able to swipe through social media during social studies. But high school athletes here in Florida will be able now to make some money off the field with endorsements and other sponsorships. This week, the State Board of Education gave its final okay allowing Florida high school athletes to get paid using their name image likeness. Ben Gibson is the chair of the board. The number one priority is protecting the student-athletes. This could be a great opportunity for some student-athletes, right? But we want to make

sure that they do it in a manner that they're protected and not exploited. that they do it in a manner that they're protected and not exploited. Gibson and other board members, such as Esther Bird, want a database to track student-athletes who sign endorsement contracts. This board takes very seriously protecting our students, and thank you for taking that seriously as well. You have the full support of this board to do what needs to be done to make sure these bad actors don't start preying on our kids. Now, there are limits on what the student-athletes can do with their name, image, and likeness.

They cannot use their school's name, logo, or mascot, and they cannot endorse stuff like adult entertainment, vaping, gambling, or politics. Oh, and among the first high school student-athletes to secure deals? A high school chess team from Gainesville. Yeah, chess team. Here's reporter Kristen Moorhead from our partner station, WUFT. When you think of high school sports, chess might not be what you picture. But for 16-year-old international master Bach Ngo, this sport has landed him and his teammates thousands of dollars in sponsorships. When I was young, I just liked how the pieces, figurines looked cool. And then as I get older,

the strategy and the tactics and such, they're just very exciting. His chess team received a $2,500 check from College Hunks, a national furniture moving company. Ngo also got an individual $2,500 sponsorship. Ngo is the fifth highest ranked 16 year old in the country and he's working his way up to Grand Master, the highest honor in chess. Team coach Britt Ryerson is a national master. A lot of times the recognition goes to the star athletes but it's really cool to see that chess players are also recognized as athletes. Ryerson says chess tournaments can be expensive. The entry fees alone can be hundreds of dollars,

plus hotel and travel costs. He says the sponsorships will go toward these costs so the team can compete in more tournaments. The team's next tournament is in December. I'm Kristen Moorhead in Gainesville. Checkmate, football. I'm Kristen Moorhead in Gainesville. Checkmate, football. While we're talking about athletes, the Summer Olympics getting underway this weekend in Paris. A few dozen Olympians from Florida or with ties to Florida will be swimming, running, sailing, riding, and competing in the Summer Games. There's Daniela Ramirez from Miami.

She is carrying on a family tradition. Her grandmother, mom, and sister were all synchronized swimmers. Somebody asked if we ever fly like private to the Olympics. No. We are here with the rest of you. If you see me on the plane, come say hi. That was from her TikTok this week as she left the United States bound for Paris. This will be the second Games for Laura Dahlman-Wiese. She's from Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes, and she's a sailor. She graduated, though, from Eckerd College in St. Pete. She will be sailing in the mixed dinghy race. For the first time, it will be a man and a woman sailing together. Here's how she explained it in an Instagram post. Our communication has to be quite the mix of what he thinks is happening

for the day and how I feel the boat. I feel it through my feet. He feels it through his butt. Laura Kraut is already a gold and silver medal winner as an equestrian. She won gold in Beijing and silver in Tokyo. She lives and trains in Wellington and she's an Olympics veteran. Her first games? Barcelona 1992. Here she is last month on the Practical Horseman podcast. There's a lot of people who really want to make an Olympic team, but I think there's the real ones are the ones who actually not only want to make it, but they want to win when they get there. Now, the Sunshine State is also home to Olympians who will be competing for their home countries, including Ghana and Haiti. Ailey Shaines begins from our partner station, WUSF in Tampa. Abdul Rashid Saminu was born in a small village in the city of Nanumba.

The 22-year-old is now representing Ghana on one of the largest athletic stages at the Paris Games. He becomes only the sixth USF track and field athlete to ever compete in the Olympics. Zeminiu says he's excited but not putting too much pressure on himself. Olympics is just a normal, it's just a name. Just go do what you're supposed to do. It's a little bit of pressure there. I'm just grateful I'm making it there, putting myself on a map alongside the school and my country. I'm just happy going. I'm not nervous at all. Semenu qualified for the 200-meter dash and is expected to qualify for the 100. He's also able to compete in the 4x100-meter relay, but Ghana's track and field coach will make that decision. I'm Ailey Shaines in Tampa.

I'm Wilkin Brutus in Palm Beach County. By the time she was six, Maya Shalut was already used to people cheering her name. Now at 14 years old, the 50-meter freestyle sprint swimmer is ready to make her own family proud, and her name cheered in arguably the most important meet of her career. Let me tell you, it was like a big shocker for me. I didn't think that was going to happen, especially like since I'm only 14. And I think doing that 53 will get me an opportunity to show how fast I can go in such a short amount of time.

Both of Maya's parents were born and raised in Haiti. Her mother, Marjorie Ilea Chalut, says a simple hobby turned into Olympic aspirations. She wanted to be part of a team. She advocated for that at six years old, told me the time to try out. You know, it's really her journey. She started it. She loves swimming. She kind of calls the shot and we just we're following along. Maya is competing in the 50 meter freestyle competition on August 3rd. Wilkin also tells us U.S. Open champion and Floridian Coco Gauff will carry the Stars and Stripes during the opening ceremonies. Also carrying the flag will be former Florida resident LeBron James.

will be former Florida resident LeBron James. I think he's a basketball player. I'm Tom Hudson, and you're listening to the Florida Roundup from your Florida Public Radio station. Oh, and one more thing about these Olympics. They're the first that Floridians can legally place bets on. Yeah, sports betting is legal here, after all. Anyone will be hard-pressed to name their favorite decathlete or sprinter. It's more about the events and less about the individuals.

And it's certainly going to attract more of the casual better than a professional better. That's Robert Linehan. He's a regulatory reporter for Sports Betting Dime, an online trade publication. Even though there are more than 590 members of Team USA in Paris and elsewhere, and more than 10,000 athletes from 206 countries, there's no competition for placing a legal sports bet in Florida. The Seminole Tribe has a state-granted monopoly in exchange for hundreds of millions of dollars. Its sportsbook allows betting on 18 Olympic events like soccer, cycling, and badminton. Finally in the roundup, location, location,

location. Everybody's heard that, right? You know those are the three most important rules in real estate. Well, for one Florida house that's now looking for a buyer, it's all up from its location. 400 South Street stands just next to the iconic southernmost point buoy in Key West. It's the furthest south residential home in the continental North American states, right where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Gulf of Mexico. That's reporter Julia Cooper from our partner station WLRN in South Florida. The house is owned by the family of Seward Johnson. He was a sculptor. His grandfather founded Johnson & Johnson, you know, the company behind the Band-Aid and now dozens of other products and medicines. So it's a five-bedroom, five-and-a-half bath house.

There's a tile mosaic that reads, North America begins here. And appropriately, it's in the southernmost corner of the pool deck. If you've ever lined up to get your photo taken at the southernmost buoy in Key West, you've stood on the sidewalk right outside this house. But Julia reports it's not all sunshine and looking south for a new buyer. After all, this is a house right where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Gulf of Mexico. It's not unlike other Florida Keys homes in many ways. It's listed as having extreme wind and flood risks and, according to the listing agent, has already sustained minor wind and water damage. The list price?

Eighteen and a half million dollars. Buoy crowds and crashing waves included. That'll do it for the Florida Roundup this week. It's produced by WLRN Public Media in Miami and WUSF Public Media in Tampa by Bridget O'Brien and Grayson Docter. WLRN's Vice President of Radio and the program's Technical Director is Peter Mertz. Engineering help each and every week by Doug Peterson, Charles Michaels, and Jackson Hart. Richard Ives answers our phones. Our theme music is provided by Miami jazz guitarist Aaron Leibos at aaronleibos.com.

is provided by Miami jazz guitarist Aaron Leibos at aaronleibos.com. If you missed any of today's program, you can download it, share it, and listen to past programs at wlrn.org slash podcasts. You're also invited to an in-person live Florida Roundup from Key West on August 9th. We'll be talking with the leading Democrat running for U.S. Senate here in Florida, Debbie Mercosul Powell. If you're around, we'd love to see you in Key West. August 9th. You can register at WLRN.org. Thanks for calling, emailing, listening, and above all, supporting public media in your neighborhood. I'm Tom Hudson. Have a terrific weekend.