US Supreme Court to decide if state laws regulating social media networks violate Constitution
File photo.
The United States Supreme Court on Friday (Sep 29) agreed to decide whether state laws that seek to regulate Facebook, TikTok, X, and other social media networks violate the Constitution. According to a report by the news agency Associated Press, the justices would review laws enacted by Republican-dominated legislatures and signed by Republican governors in Florida and Texas.
Both laws aim to prevent social media companies from censoring users based on their viewpoints. The justices already agreed to decide whether public officials can block critics from commenting on their social media accounts, an issue that previously came up in a case involving then-US president Donald Trump.
The Supreme Court's announcement comes as justices continue to grapple with how laws written at the dawn of the digital age, or earlier, apply to the online world.
The report said that separately, the high court could consider a lower-court order limiting executive branch officials’ communications with social media companies about controversial online posts.
The new case follows conflicting rulings by two appeals courts, one of which upheld the Texas law, while the other struck down Florida’s statute. By a 5-4 vote, the justices kept the Texas law on hold while litigation over it continues, the report added.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett voted to grant the emergency request from two technology industry groups that challenged the law in federal court.
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On the other hand, Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Elena Kagan, and Neil Gorsuch would have allowed the law to remain in effect.
Proponents of the laws sought to portray social media companies as generally liberal in outlook and hostile to ideas outside of that viewpoint. The tech sector warned that the laws would prevent platforms from removing extremism and hate speech.
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