A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a law imposed from Texas to curb censorship of large social media platforms. The ruling is a major defeat for large companies such as Meta (Facebook) or Twitter, which defended banning content from certain users based on their personal point of view, arguing that, without this censorship, the platforms could publish dangerous content.
The Big Tech lawsuit challenged HB 20, a law enacted by Governor Greg Abbott to regulate social media platforms and prevent companies such as Google, Facebook or Twitter from censoring or limiting millions of users' freedom of speech.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a supporter of HB 20, expressed his contentment regarding this victory against large social media companies on Twitter:
BREAKING: I just secured a MASSIVE VICTORY for the Constitution & Free Speech in fed court: #BigTech CANNOT censor the political voices of ANY Texan! The 5th Circuit "reject[s] the idea that corporations have a freewheeling First Amendment right to censor what people say. pic.twitter.com/UijlzYcv7r
- Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) September 16, 2022
Improper use of the First Amendment
The ruling, issued by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans, states the possibility that the U.S. Supreme Court will rule on the law which conservatives have said is necessary to prevent large technology companies from suppressing individual citizens' views.
Federal Judge Andrew S. Oldham of the Court of Appeals said the platforms argued a "a rather odd inversion of the First Amendment" that "buried somewhere in the person’s enumerated right to free speech lies a corporation’s unenumerated right to muzzle speech."
Today we reject the idea that corporations have a First Amendment right to censor what people say. Because the district court held otherwise, we reverse its injunction and remand the case for further proceedings.
NetChoice, the group representing Meta in its attempt to overturn the Texas law, said in a statement that they are "disappointed" with the decision. "We remain convinced that when the U.S. Supreme Court hears one of our cases, it will uphold the First Amendment rights of websites, platforms, and apps."
NetChoice by VozMedia on Scribd
The appeals court ruling comes after an opposing case managed to strike down a similar social media law in Florida back in May. This opens the door for the Supreme Court to take up the case in order to definitively decide how to balance the delicate issue of freedom of expression.
