The US Supreme Court on Monday ordered lower courts to review two Republican-backed state laws that ban social media companies from moderating content, setting aside a ruling on their constitutional validity.
Tech industry trade groups, which welcomed the decision, had challenged laws passed in 2021 by conservative Republican lawmakers in Florida and Texas as part of a broader resistance against alleged conservative bias by major platforms such as Facebook and X, formerly Twitter, which owns Meta.
The companies denied that they were censoring conservative viewpoints under the guise of content moderation, as their advocates argued that the laws overstepped the platforms’ own First Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution.
The Supreme Court declined to rule on whether it was constitutional for states to pass such laws, leaving both laws in limbo and directing lower courts to conduct close review.
The Florida measure prevents social media platforms from pulling politicians’ content, a law that was passed after former President Donald Trump was suspended from Twitter and Facebook in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
In Texas, the law prevents sites from removing content based on “viewpoint” and is also aimed at thwarting censorship of right-wing views by tech platforms like Facebook and YouTube, which conservatives view as a form of censorship.
No law has been implemented due to litigation.
These laws were challenged by the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) and NetChoice, organizations representing big tech companies, who argue that the First Amendment gives platforms the freedom to handle content as they see fit.
– ‘Orwellian’ –
“We are encouraged that the Court majority has made it clear that the government cannot manipulate the public debate to its own advantage,” CCIA President Matt Schruers said in a statement.
“There’s nothing more Orwellian than the government trying to dictate what speech should be allowed, whether it’s in a newspaper or on a social media site.”
The decision was also welcomed by technology advocacy groups.
“The government does not have the right to impose rules on companies like Meta and Google about how they should carry out platform accountability measures,” said Nora Benavidez, senior counsel at watchdog Free Press.
“These laws would further increase the amount of hate and misinformation online, and undermine both the meaning and purpose of the First Amendment,” he said.
But other advocates warned that the decision should not absolve technology companies of their responsibility to address threats to public safety and democracy.
“Today’s unanimous opinion ensures that platforms can enforce their community and safety standards during a critical election year,” said Nicole Gill, executive director of watchdog Accountable Tech.
“But let there be no doubt about it: This is no excuse for these platforms to continue to shrug off their role in abusing democracy and perpetrating countless societal harms.”
Monday’s decision comes after the Supreme Court last week rejected a Republican-led effort to limit the government’s interaction with social media companies to regulate their content.
The decision hands President Joe Biden’s administration and top government agencies a victory ahead of November’s presidential election, allowing them to continue notifying major platforms, including Facebook and X, about what content they consider false or hateful.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)