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Supreme Court

Social media content moderation laws come before Supreme Court

Once again, the relationship between the government and social media will headline arguments at the Supreme Court on Monday. NetChoice v. Paxton and Moody v. NetChoice are just the second of three social media disputes the court will hear this term. The justices on Monday will consider the constitutionality of controversial laws in Texas and Florida that would regulate how large social media companies like Facebook and X (formerly known as Twitter) control content posted on their sites.

Defending … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justices consider liability for officials who block critics on social media

On Tuesday the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a pair of cases involving liability for public officials who block critics on their personal social-media accounts. The two cases, O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier and Lindke v. Freed, are the first in a series of disputes this term arising out of the relationship between government and social media.

O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier

In the first case on Tuesday, the justices are reviewing a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justices allow federal government continued communication over social media content moderation

The Supreme Court on Friday granted a request from the Biden administration to temporarily block a lower court’s order that would limit the ability of government officials to communicate with social media companies about their content moderation policies. The Biden administration contends that it has sought only to “mitigate the hazards of online misinformation” by flagging content that violated the social media platforms’ own policies. But two states and several individuals whose social media posts were removed or downgraded … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Biden asks justices to block limits on collaboration with social media companies

The Biden administration on Thursday afternoon asked the Supreme Court to temporarily block a lower court’s order that would limit its ability to communicate with social media companies over content moderation policies. U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar told the justices that if the “unprecedented” order is allowed to stand, it would put a Louisiana district judge in charge of overseeing the executive branch’s communications with social media companies.

Shortly after receiving the government’s request, Justice Samuel Alito — who … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Tech industry asks court to block Texas law that targets social media companies

Two technology trade groups came to the Supreme Court on Friday night, asking the justices to block a controversial Texas law that bars large social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter from moderating speech based on the viewpoints of their users. Describing the law as an “undisguised effort to level the speech playing field and control ‘Big Tech,’” the groups urged the court to reinstate a decision by a federal district judge in Texas that barred the state from … Read the rest