Washington – The Supreme Court has agreed to take up the Texas and Florida social media laws that several lower courts have found to violate the First Amendment. The Computer & Communications Industry Association, along with its co-plaintiff NetChoice, had asked the Court to hear these critical cases that challenge governmental attempts to compel websites and applications to display speech. Both the Texas and Florida must-carry statutes have been prevented by court orders from going into effect while this review was pending.
The Supreme Court had postponed a decision on granting the cases while awaiting a recommendation from the U.S. Solicitor General, who recently agreed that these laws forcing private companies to carry content are unconstitutional.
Additional information on NetChoice & CCIA v. Moody can be found here, and additional information on NetChoice & CCIA v. Paxton can be found here.
CCIA has advocated for free speech online for more than 25 years. This includes the First Amendment right for private businesses to determine what material to display and offer to their communities.
The following can be attributed to CCIA President Matt Schruers:
“For more than 200 years, courts have upheld the First Amendment to protect citizens and private businesses from government attempts to compel speech. This is a critical principle of democracy, and we are glad the Supreme Court recognized that and agreed to hear the case.
“As multiple courts have shown, the First Amendment applies to all forms of human communication, and it is time for the Supreme Court to reaffirm that these protections are the ultimate law of the land.
“This order is encouraging. It is high time that the Supreme Court resolves whether governments can force websites to publish dangerous content. Telling private websites they must give equal treatment to extremist hate isn’t just unwise, it is unconstitutional, and we look forward to demonstrating that to the Court.”