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The Supreme Court is set to consider what obligations social media platforms hold for the content they carry—a decision that could ultimately have wide-ranging impacts on the online ecosystem.
The justices will hear arguments Feb. 26 over a pair of state laws aimed at regulating content on social media platforms. The court agreed to hear the cases in September but had not set a date for arguments until Friday.
The dispute stems from Florida and Texas laws that seek to limit perceived conservative censorship on large platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and X, requiring social media platforms to, among other things, disclose explanations for content moderation decisions. The Florida law would remove some existing civil liability protections, and platforms could also rack up fines if they deplatform political candidates.
Tech advocacy groups NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association challenged the laws under the First Amendment with differing results: The 11th Circuit prevented most of the Florida law from taking effect, while the 5th Circuit nixed a lower court injunction against the Texas law.
The justices will soon hear arguments about whether the states’ would-be platform obligations run afoul of free-speech principles that ordinarily permit websites to use editorial discretion in how and what they display. According to case documents, the court will consider “whether the laws’ content-moderation restrictions comply with the First Amendment” and whether platforms can be compelled to provide users with “individualized explanations” when content is taken down.
Major online platforms have argued that a decision in favor of the states could dramatically reshape—and degrade—popular websites that rely on user-generated content.
“Without these editorial choices, websites would offer experiences overrun with spam, bullying, and other harmful content,” the advocacy groups, which count platforms like Meta and X among their members, told the Supreme Court.