SCOTUS is tackling free speech + social media
Image: Landmark Legal Foundation
Later today, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a pair of cases that are expected to produce a major constitutional ruling on the First Amendment free speech rights of large social media companies.
The cases center around laws enacted in Florida and Texas that are aimed at prohibiting major platforms – including Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and X – from removing posts based on the political views they express, with exceptions for certain categories like violent threats and child exploitation.
- While the laws differ in their specific details, they both were born out of frustration among Republican lawmakers over some social media platforms’ decisions to ban President Trump after the January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol.
The Justices will be tasked with answering a key question: Do social media companies most closely resemble newspapers, or are they more similar to phone companies?
If the platforms are like newspapers, they can act as editors and publish what they want without government interference. But if they’re like phone companies, they must let visitors say what they like and transmit everyone’s speech.
- Supporters of the Florida and Texas laws argue social media platforms should be bound by the same laws as phone companies – aka transmit all users’ speech with very few restrictions – since online platforms have become a de-facto town square for widespread public expression and discourse.
- Opponents of the laws, including the DOJ and social media companies, contend that platforms should have the ability to moderate their own content without government interference. They also argue the state laws effectively force social media companies to publish objectionable content that harms users and advertisers.
⚖️☀️ It’s about to be a hot SCOTUS summer. A final decision in today’s cases is expected before July, while other major cases before the Court in the coming months include a case seeking to overturn FDA approval of the abortion pill mifepristone and a challenge to the federal government’s ban on bump stocks for semi-automatic rifles.
📊 Flash poll: In your opinion, should social media companies be regulated like newspapers and publish what they want, or should they be regulated like phone companies and transmit everyone’s speech with minimal restrictions?
See a 360° view of what media pundits are saying →
Sprinkles from the Left
- Some commentators argue that the Justices should prioritize a ruling that resolves conflicts among competing speech claims in the digital public sphere by prioritizing the speech that’s most necessary for democracy.
- Others contend that social media companies shouldn’t be forced to publish content produced by their users that they don’t wish to publish, since it would lead to a sharp increase in highly problematic content on those platforms.
- “What Matters Most in the Supreme Court’s Upcoming Social Media Cases” –Jameel Jaffer, NY Times
- “The Supreme Court showdown over social media “censorship,” explained” –Ian Millhiser, Vox
- “Social Media Is a Mess. Government Meddling Would Only Make It Worse.” –Jeff Kosseff, NY Times
Sprinkles from the Right
- Some commentators argue that Florida and Texas are wrong to argue that social media platforms are common carriers like telephone companies, since extending such regulation to social media invites more government control of speech, and a free-for-all social media would further exacerbate the harms caused by the technology.
- Others contend that the Supreme Court needs to stop large social media companies from abusing vague policies that silence free speech on their platform, and seem to target conservative-leaning users more often than others.
- “Big Tech Censorship Goes to the Supreme Court” –WSJ Editorial Board
- “Babylon Bee fights for free speech all the way to the Supreme Court” –Seth Dillon and Jeremy Dys, Fox News
- “Supreme Court could soon quash Big Tech censorship” –Betsy McCaughey, NY Post
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