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 law to restrain Big Tech giants from moderating ‘objectionable’ material on their platforms.
The states said that the social media companies unlawfully tampered the free speech of users, particularly with conservative posts.
The tech companies, on the other hand, said that the laws improperly limited their ability to exert ‘editorial discretion’ over the content on their sites.
Justice Elena Kagan wrote the majority opinion.
‘A State cannot prohibit speech to rebalance the speech market. That unadorned interest is not ‘unrelated to the suppression of free expression,” the court ruled Monday in the opinion by liberal Justice Elena Kagan.
The Supreme Court issued a decision in a major social media censorship case
Kagan wrote there is much work to do on the cases, but the work must be done consistent with the First Amendment.
Florida and Texas passed separate state laws in 2021 regulating large social media companies and other internet platforms.
The trade association NetChoice LLC which represents members such as Facebook and YouTube brought a challenge against both laws.
The Supreme Court’s decision on Monday comes on the last day of the court’s session before they head out on summer recess.