Supreme Court Will Hear First Amendment Challenges to Big Tech Laws

WASHINGTON, DC – The Supreme Court announced Friday that it will decide whether Florida and Texas Big Tech laws violate the First Amendment, teeing up a major constitutional fight over attempts by conservatives and Republicans to fight leftwing bias in social media companies.

Florida and Texas both adopted laws restricting social media companies’ ability to censor people, which those companies do under the euphemistic label of “content moderation.” Big Tech companies sued, arguing these regulations violate the free speech rights of those companies under the Constitution. Private companies are not bound by the First Amendment, but federal, state, and local governments are.

Those two state laws are similar, and the Supreme Court will review two of the restrictions from those statutes. The first concerns the choices social media companies can make to suppress content, and the second requires those companies to provide individual explanations for specific instances of censorship.