A pair of Supreme Court cases whose arguments are being held Monday will influence the future of online speech and the limits of future tech regulation.
In Moody v. NetChoice and NetChoice v. Paxton, the court will decide on whether laws governing social media from Florida and Texas would violate the First Amendment by compelling the companies to host speech, even when they don’t want to. The laws were passed in 2021, after former President Donald Trump’s ouster from mainstream platforms following the insurrection on January 6th. They also resulted from long-held grievances from conservatives about what they view as social media censorship of their viewpoints.
The justices will determine whether social media platforms are more akin to newspapers that have the freedom to exercise editorial judgement, or like shopping malls that serve as gathering places for the public and can be made to host demonstrations. The outcome could impact not just big tech companies but nonprofit efforts like Wikipedia and more traditional publishing companies.
A pair of Supreme Court cases whose arguments are being held Monday will influence the future of online speech and the limits of future tech regulation.
In Moody v. NetChoice and NetChoice v. Paxton, the court will decide on whether laws governing social media from Florida and Texas would violate the First Amendment by compelling the companies to host speech, even when they don’t want to. The laws were passed in 2021, after former President Donald Trump’s ouster from mainstream platforms following the insurrection on January 6th. They also resulted from long-held grievances from conservatives about what they view as social media censorship of their viewpoints.
The justices will determine whether social media platforms are more akin to newspapers that have the freedom to exercise editorial judgement, or like shopping malls that serve as gathering places for the public and can be made to host demonstrations. The outcome could impact not just big tech companies but nonprofit efforts like Wikipedia and more traditional publishing companies.