US Supreme Court Will Decide The Legislation Of The Social Media Restrictions Law In Florida And Texas

NetChoice is against the law in Florida and Texas on social media (photo: @NetChoice)

JAKARTA - The United States Supreme Court is expected on Monday July 1, deciding the validity of Republicans-backed laws in Florida and Texas aimed at restricting social media companies from curbing content deemed inappropriate by the platform. The law, according to industry, violates the right to free speech of these companies.

The judges were asked to decide whether the two laws violated the protection under the First Amendment to the US Constitution to restrictions on freedom of speech, as stated by industry, by disrupting the company's editorial freedom of social media companies. The 2021 law will limit the practice of content moderation by large social media platforms.

The Supreme Court has designated Monday as the final day for a decision in the current session, which began in October.

The law is opposed by the NetChoice technology industry trading group and the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), whose members include Facebook parent Meta Platforms, Alphabet which owns YouTube, as well as TikTok and owner of Snapchat, Snap.

The lower court was divided on the matter, blocking the main provisions of Florida's law while defending Texas law. No laws apply due to litigation.

The debated issue is whether the First Amendment protects the editorial freedom of social media platforms and prohibits governments from forcing companies to publish content that goes against their will.

The companies say that without these freedoms - including the ability to block or remove content or users, prioritize certain posts above others, or add additional contexts - their websites will be flooded with spam, bullying, extremism, and hate speech.

Many Republicans argue that social media platforms silence conservative voices under the guise of content moderation, which they refer to as censorship.

The administration of US President Joe Biden is against Florida and Texas laws, arguing that content moderation restrictions violate First Amendment by forcing platforms to present and promote content they deem inappropriate.

Officials from Florida and Texas argue that content moderation actions by these companies are outside First Amendment protection as the measure is not the speech itself.

The Texas law will ban social media companies with at least 50 million monthly active users from "censoring" users based on "views," and allow Texas users or attorney generals to sue to enforce them.

The Florida law will limit the ability of large platforms to exclude certain content by banning censorship or bans on political candidates or "publicic entities."

Another issue presented in this case is whether state laws burden social media companies' rights of speech illegally by requiring them to provide individual explanations to users for specific content moderation decisions, including deletion of posts from their platforms.

This is not the first time the Supreme Court has discussed the right to free speech in the digital era during the current trial. Judges on March 15 ruled that government officials can sometimes be sued under the First Amendment for blocking critics on social media.

In another case, judges on June 26 refused to impose restrictions on the way the Biden administration communicated with social media platforms, rejecting the First Amendment's challenge to the way US officials pushed for the removal of posts deemed misinformation, including about elections and COVID.

Florida is seeking to revive its law after Atlanta-based 11th US Court of Appeals largely ruled against it. The industry group appealed against New Orleans-based US Court of Appeal decision to defend Texas law, which was blocked by the Supreme Court in the early stages of the case.

Conservative critics of the company "Big Tech" have cited as an example of what it calls decision censorship by a platform previously called Twitter to suspend the account of former President Donald Trump shortly after the January 6, 2021 attacks on the US Capitol by its supporters, in which the company cited a "further risk of incitement to violence."

Trump's account has been restored by Twitter under Elon Musk, who now has a company renamed X. Trump is a Republican candidate who challenged Biden, a Democrat, in the November 5 US election.