The US Supreme Court is set to deliver its verdict on Monday on the constitutionality of two Republican-backed laws in Florida and Texas aimed at restricting social media companies’ ability to regulate content deemed objectionable. The laws, passed in 2021, have been challenged by tech industry trade groups, which argue that they violate the First Amendment by interfering with social media companies’ editorial discretion.
The Supreme Court has been asked to determine whether the laws infringe on the free speech rights of social media companies by limiting their ability to remove or block content, prioritize certain posts, or include additional context. The laws were challenged by NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association, whose members include Facebook, Google, TikTok, and Snapchat.
The Supreme Court has already set a deadline for Monday, which marks the final day of its current term. The court’s decision will likely have significant implications for the tech industry and free speech online.
The laws in question were enacted in response to concerns that social media companies are censoring conservative voices, while the tech industry argues that they need to be able to regulate content to prevent spam, bullying, extremism, and hate speech from overwhelming their platforms.
The Biden administration has opposed the laws, arguing that they violate the First Amendment by forcing social media companies to present and promote content they view as objectionable. The states of Florida and Texas, on the other hand, argue that the content-moderation actions by social media companies fall outside the protection of the First Amendment.
The Texas law would prohibit social media companies from censoring users based on their viewpoint, while the Florida law would constrain the ability of large platforms to exclude certain content, such as political candidates or journalistic enterprises.
The Supreme Court’s decision is the latest in a series of high-profile cases addressing free speech rights in the digital age. In March, the court ruled that government officials can sometimes be sued under the First Amendment for blocking critics on social media, while in June, the court declined to impose limits on the way the Biden administration communicates with social media platforms.
