Rules law would violate free speech rights of companies.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked a Texas law that bars large social media companies from banning or censoring users based on “viewpoint,” siding with two technology industry groups that have argued that the measure would turn platforms into “havens of the vilest expression imaginable.”
The justices, in a 5-4 decision, granted a request by NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association, which count Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube as members, to block the law while litigation continues after a lower court on May 11 let it go into effect.
The industry groups sued to try to block the law, challenging it as a violation of the free speech rights of companies, including editorial discretion on their platforms, under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.
The law, formally known as HB20, forbids social media companies with at least 50 million monthly active users from acting to “censor” users based on “viewpoint,” and allows either users or the Texas attorney general to sue to enforce it.
In signing the bill last September, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said: ”There is a dangerous movement by some social media companies to silence conservative ideas and values. This is wrong and we will not allow it in Texas.”
Last week, an appellate court put a similar law on hold in Florida, ruling that it was “substantially likely” that it violated the First Amendment.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For the judges in district courts as they hear and rule on cases regarding the First Amendment.
- For the justices of the Supreme Court as they issue decisions that interpret the Constitution.
- For clarity and understanding as the federal judges and Supreme Court justices consider the precedents and intents of laws.
Sources: Newsmax, CNN, Deadline
