Supreme Court grapples with Texas, Florida social media regulation laws

The U.S. Supreme Court is considering how the First Amendment protections apply to major tech companies in a lawsuit challenging similar Texas and Florida laws that restrict social media platforms' ability to moderate content.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Nexstar) — The U.S. Supreme Court is considering how the First Amendment protections apply to major tech companies in a lawsuit challenging similar Texas and Florida laws that restrict social media platforms' ability to moderate content.

Texas passed House Bill 20 two years ago, which prohibits large social media companies from banning or suspending users because of their political or religious views. Companies must have at least 50 million users to be subject to these regulations. The law also also prohibits companies from removing or denying "equal access or visibility” to content based on a user’s viewpoint.

While different, both laws were part of the states' Republican-led efforts to address accusations that social media giants like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were left-leaning and silenced conservative voices. This argument came to a head after some social media sites banned former President Donald Trump after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 in an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Trade groups NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) are challenging Florida and Texas laws, saying that they have the right to moderate posts and accounts on their platforms under the First Amendment.

Constitutional free speech protections apply to actions by the government, not private entities and companies.

After signing the law into effect in 2021, Gov. Greg Abbott said it was necessary since social media platforms are the new "public square."

"They are a place for healthy public debate where information should be able to flow freely — but there is a dangerous movement by social media companies to silence conservative viewpoints and ideas," Abbott said. That is wrong, and we will not allow it in Texas."

In nearly four hours of oral arguments, both conservative and liberal justices wrestled with how to answer these questions, expressing concern about free speech issues in regulating these companies, while acknowledging fears about the power of these tech giants.

"Why isn't that, you know, a classic First Amendment violation for the state to come in and say, 'We're not going to allow you to enforce those sorts of restrictions?" asked Justice Elena Kagan.

Both laws are currently on pause due to lower court rulings. How the high court rules could lead to more legal battles in lower courts.

This is a developing story, check back for updates. Capitol Correspondent Monica Madden will have a full report on KXAN at 5 p.m.