2 years ago
A Texas law that bans social media companies from censoring users’ viewpoints is constitutionally allowed, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Friday, in a blow to Facebook, Twitter and Google.
Latest development: The ruling is a win for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in their efforts to combat what they call censorship of conservative viewpoints by social media companies.
Despite the ruling, the Texas law does not immediately take effect; it will do so once the appeals court issues written instructions to the district court that had decided the case.
The law, H.B. 20, had previously been blocked from taking effect by a May 5-4 Supreme Court ruling, which had granted an emergency request by tech trade groups NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association, which represent Facebook, Twitter and Google. The trade groups have alleged the Texas law violates the First Amendment rights of the companies they represent.
“Today we reject the idea that corporations have a freewheeling First Amendment right to censor what people say,” the 5th Circuit wrote in their decision.
What’s next: “We disagree and we’re evaluating options,” said Heather Greenfied, a spokesperson for the CCIA.
Such options include filing for a rehearing in the 5th Circuit or appealing again to the Supreme Court.
Texas’ law, were it to go into effect, could drastically change the way social media companies operate by restricting their ability to police their platforms and forcing the platforms to keep up content that could violate their hate speech rules.
It would allow both the state of Texas and individual Texans to sue companies if they “censor” an individual based on their viewpoints or their geographic location by banning them or blocking, removing or otherwise discriminating against their posts.
Conflicting rulings: The 5th Circuit decision is in direct conflict with a May opinion by the 11th Circuit which held that major provisions of a similar social media law in Florida violate the First Amendment.
These conflicting rulings could be cause for another appeal to the Supreme Court, whose May ruling did not touch on the merits of the underlying Texas case.
The Texas attorney general's office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
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