The Supreme Court issued a 9-0 decision in a major social media censorship case, dealing a blow to GOP-led states.
The Republican-led states of Texas and Florida passed a law to prevent Big Tech giants from moderating “objectionable” material on their platforms.
The states said the social media companies illegally disrupted users’ freedom of expression, particularly with conservative posts.
Tech companies, on the other hand, said the laws unduly limited their ability to exercise “editorial discretion” over the content of their sites.
Justice Elena Kagan wrote the majority opinion.
‘A State cannot prohibit expression to rebalance the expression market. That simple interest is “not related to the suppression of free expression,” the court ruled Monday in liberal Justice Elena Kagan’s opinion.
The Supreme Court has issued a decision in a major social media censorship case
Kagan wrote that there is much work to be done on the cases, but the work must be done in a manner consistent with the First Amendment.
He noted how social media has transformed the way people communicate, but the courts still have a necessary role in protecting those entities; rights to expression, as courts have done with traditional media rights.
In 2021, Florida and Texas passed separate state laws regulating large social media companies and other internet platforms. The laws restricted platforms’ ability to moderate whether and how third-party posts were shown to users.
The laws also require platforms to provide an explanation to a user if they modify or delete a post.
The trade association NetChoice LLC, which represents members such as Facebook and YouTube, filed a challenge against both laws.
The Supreme Court ended up overturning the appeals courts’ decisions and remanding the cases for further proceedings.
The Supreme Court’s decision on Monday comes on the court’s last day of sessions before going into summer recess.