Chris Marquez (left), director of the NetChoice Litigation Center, looks on as Matt Schruers (center), CEO of the Computer and Communications Industry Association, speaks to reporters outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 26, 2024.
Andrew Caballero Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
The Supreme Court on Monday struck down existing provisions on two state laws aimed at preventing tech companies from banning users over potentially harmful speech, extending a debate over whether Republicans will be able to fight what they see as “censorship” by leading social media platforms.
The court sent the case back to lower courts for further review, arguing that previous rulings failed to explore whether content moderation laws were unconstitutional in all circumstances.
Texas and Florida have passed legislation that Republican lawmakers say would bar tech companies including Meta, the parent company of Facebook; X, formerly known as Twitter; and Google’s YouTube from suppressing conservative views. The states argue the laws ensure all users have equal access to the platforms, while the tech companies, represented by groups including NetChoice, say they violate the companies’ free speech rights.
Justice Elena Kagan wrote the majority opinion, with no dissent. She wrote that lower courts had previously discussed how the laws might apply to the largest social media platforms like Facebook, and in doing so, had failed to consider how they would affect “other types of sites and apps” like Uber Or Etsy.
“Today, we reverse both decisions on grounds separate from the First Amendment merits, because neither appellate court properly considered the extraneous nature of NetChoice’s challenge,” Kagan wrote.
Texas and Florida introduced these laws in 2021 after former President Donald Trump was banned from Twitter for inflammatory posts surrounding the results of the 2020 presidential election and the ensuing riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Trump is now the leading Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential race.
Laws were passed in Texas and Florida before Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, acquired Twitter for about $44 billion in 2022. Musk allowed Trump back on Twitter in November of that year.
