Penguin Random House & other major publishers sue Florida over book bans in schools

[Marshy]

 

Six major publishing houses are turning the page on censorship and taking Florida to court over a contentious new law. Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster, and Sourcebooks have incited a literary rebellion against the Sunshine State to challenge House Bill 1069, which allows parents to contest and potentially remove books from school libraries if deemed inappropriate or pornographic by school boards.

 

Filed in the US District Court in Orlando, the lawsuit argues that the legislation imposes strict censorship, trampling on First Amendment rights. The publishers contend that the bill broadly regulates book availability without considering their literary, artistic, political, scientific, or educational merits. They’re not alone in this fight—acclaimed authors John Green and Jodi Picoult have joined the fray, alongside the Authors Guild.

 

According to the plaintiffs, the impact of this law is far-reaching. They claim hundreds of books have been pulled from shelves, including timeless classics like Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities and Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl. The vague nature of the restrictions, they argue, has created a chilling effect, leading to the removal of far more books than the First Amendment would typically allow.

 

Florida’s Department of Education stands by the law, asserting its aim is to shield students from sexually explicit and inappropriate content. However, the plaintiffs maintain that the implementation has resulted in censorship of constitutionally protected works vital for education.

 

The publishing houses clarify they’re not seeking to prevent Florida from keeping genuinely obscene material out of schools, nor are they asking for the entire law to be scrapped. However, they take issue with the broad application of the term “pornographic” to books that are far from obscene. 

 

As stated in the lawsuit, “If the State of Florida dislikes an author's idea, it can offer a competing message. It cannot suppress the disfavored message.”

 

• https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/29/us/florida-book-ban-lawsuit.html 
• https://people.com/publishers-authors-students-and-teachers-file-lawsuit-against-florida-book-bans-8704020 
• https://thehill.com/homenews/education/4854982-major-publishers-sue-florida-book-ban-law/ 

 

 

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