US Supreme Court throws out rulings on state laws regulating social media
- At issue was if the First Amendment protects social media platforms and prohibits governments from forcing them to publish content against their will
The US Supreme Court on Monday threw out a pair of judicial decisions involving challenges to Republican-backed laws in Florida and Texas designed to restrict the power of social media companies to curb content that the platforms deem objectionable.
The justices directed lower appeals courts to reconsider their decisions regarding these 2021 laws authorising the states to regulate the content-moderation practices of large social media platforms. Tech industry trade groups challenged the two laws under the US Constitution’s First Amendment limits on the government’s ability to restrict speech.
The ruling came on the final day of the Supreme Court’s term that began in October.
The laws were challenged by tech industry trade groups NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), whose members include Facebook parent Meta Platforms, Alphabet’s Google, which owns YouTube, as well as TikTok and Snapchat owner Snap.
Lower courts split on the issue, blocking key provisions of Florida’s law while upholding the Texas measure. Neither law has gone into effect due to the litigation.
At issue was whether the First Amendment protects the editorial discretion of the social media platforms and prohibits governments from forcing companies to publish content against their will. The companies have said that without such discretion – including the ability to block or remove content or users, prioritise certain posts over others or include additional context – their websites would be overrun with spam, bullying, extremism and hate speech.