09/29/2023

SCOTUS to Weigh State Laws Constraining Social Media Companies

Republican-led states want fewer regulations

Today, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) agreed to decide the legality of Republican-backed state laws in Texas and Florida that constrain the ability of social media companies to curb content on their platforms that these businesses deem objectionable.

The justices took up two cases involving challenges by technology industry groups who argued that these 2021 laws restricting content-moderation practices of large social media platforms violate the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment protections for freedom of speech. Lower courts split on the issue, striking down key provisions of Florida's law while upholding the Texas measure.

The industry challengers to the 2021 laws are NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association, industry groups whose members include Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc, Alphabet Inc's Google, which owns YouTube, as well as TikTok and X, formerly called Twitter.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Reuters.