The US Supreme Court has agreed to examine the legality of state laws in Texas and Florida, supported by Republicans, that restrict the authority of social media companies to regulate content on their platforms, content that these companies consider objectionable.
The justices have taken up two cases where challenges were brought forth by technology industry groups. These groups argued that the 2021 laws, which limit the content moderation practices of major social media platforms, violate the First Amendment protections for freedom of speech under the US Constitution.
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Lower courts had different rulings on the matter, with some invalidating key parts of Florida’s law and others upholding the Texas measure.
The industry groups challenging the laws are NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), whose members include major companies like Meta Platforms Inc (parent company of Facebook), Alphabet Inc (owner of Google and YouTube), TikTok, and X (formerly known as Twitter).
