The revenge of Citizens United

by A. Altieri D'Angelo

Photo: Ron DeSantis

Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida and The Disney Corporation are in a court battle over First Amendment rights. Disney is suing DeSantis for infringing its right to free speech.

This litigation could be the first of many in the U.S. because conservatives target companies for their “woke” policies. They do not want to hear or see U.S. corporations supporting woke programs and seek to silence them.

Woke is defined as being aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice). Ironically, one of the main reasons why corporations, like Disney, can openly support such things as LBGT rights is a 2010 Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruling-Citizens United vs FERC.

Conservatives celebrated the ruling. They saw that this decision would open the door to hundreds of millions of dollars in new campaign money. Republicans believed they would benefit from this ruling because they and the American business community shared common goals, or so they thought. But the DeSantis/Disney litigation shows that Citizen United has also become a shield corporations could use to defend against political retribution. The law of unintended consequences is leading to the “Revenge of Citizens United.”

Scotus ruled that corporations are entitled to free speech. Businesses and people have the same protections. The ruling gives businesses an equal right to voice their opinions on matters of public concern in the same way individuals do and fund political campaigns. They have the same limitations: they cannot make defamatory or deceptive statements and are fully accountable for misusing their right to free speech.

In March 2022, DeSantis and the Florida legislature passed a law known as the Don't Say Gay Bill.
The Bill states that there can be no classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender to children in kindergarten to third grade or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate. (The same legislature expanded the Bill to include grades 4-12).

Disney expressed its opposition to the new law. DeSantis was outraged by Disney's use of its right to free speech. He retaliated by passing a new law eliminating the contract between Disney and the State of Florida. Disney was given control of a 43-square mile territory (known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District) to develop and run. The agreement was signed in 1967.

Disney out-maneuvered DeSantis and agreed with the outgoing board of supervisors overseeing Reedy Creek to allow it to retain control for decades. When DeSantis found out, he was livid; and threatened all sorts of punitive measures.

The governor indicated that he would punish Disney.
He said,“People are like, ‘Well, here's what should we do with this land? So, you know, it’s like, OK. People have said, you know, create a state park, try to do more amusement parks. Someone even said, like, you need another state prison. Who knows? I mean, I just think the possibilities are endless.”
There has been a litany of DeSantis threats.

Disney filed a 74-page complaint in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. It states that DeSantis violated the company's 1st Amendment rights. Disney claimed DeSantis’ actions amounted to a “campaign of government retaliation”. The Disney lawsuit cites numerous instances where DeSantis crossed the line. Disney asked the federal court to invalidate the state's actions, reinstate its contracts and protect its powers over the long term to control the development of Walt Disney World, where it said it has plans to invest $17 billion over the next decade.

Citizens United will pose severe problems for DeSantis and conservatives across the U.S. A growing movement seeks to punish corporations for speaking up. Various state representatives are considering legislation restricting companies from doing business with their states because they have adopted "woke policies." This type of retaliation could also be seen as violating corporate free speech. Disney's lawsuit could become a model for other companies to resist right-wing censorship.

Corporations have no choice but to push back against violations of their free speech. American shareholders and customers expect corporations to believe in a set of values, and they must defend such. Any company that does not protect its values will lose the support of either group or both. Conservatives, however, are not happy as they expected corporations to fund their campaigns and not express opinions. They seek to punish “woke” companies, but Citizens United offers protection by allowing businesses to support political campaigns with cash contributions and by filing lawsuits.

Conservatives will not win many political campaigns if American business turns against them.

The revenge of Citizens United is best served cold!