Supreme Court avoids ruling on state laws regulating social media

The Supreme Court avoided issuing a final ruling on Florida and Texas laws limiting the power of social networking companies to moderate content. The justices unanimously agreed to send several cases on the issue back to lower courts.

"The justices unanimously agreed to return the cases to lower courts for analysis. In the majority opinion, Justice Elena Kagan wrote that neither lower appeals court had properly analyzed the First Amendment challenges to the Florida and Texas laws," explained The New York Times.

The Supreme Court's decision came after tech companies challenged two state laws, arguing that these laws imposed unconstitutional limits on free speech under the First Amendment, a stance also supported by the Biden administration.

"Officials from Florida and Texas countered that the content-moderation actions by these companies fall outside the protection of the First Amendment because such conduct is not itself speech," Reuters reported.

Neither law has gone into effect. Meanwhile, the lower courts remain divided on the issue. They have blocked provisions of the Florida law while upholding the Texas measure.