Federal Court Declares Texas Social Media Law Designed To Curb Censorship Unconstitutional
A Texas social media law designed to curb political censorship violated tech platforms’ First Amendment rights, a federal court found on Wednesday.
Judge Robert Pitman of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction blocking HB 20, signed into law by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in early September, and declared it unconstitutional.
The law prohibited social media platforms from banning, suspending or taking similar adverse actions against users based on their political viewpoint, and it similarly prevented platforms from politically-motivated removal of content. In addition, the law set up a complaint system for users claiming censorship and allowed the state attorney general to sue on an allegedly censored user’s behalf.
The court found that the law violated social media companies’ First Amendment rights to remove content on their platforms.
Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg (L) speaks with Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella after posing for a family picture with guests who attend the “Tech for Good” Summit at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on May 23, 2018. (Photo by CHARLES PLATIAU/AFP via Getty Images)
“Social media platforms have a First Amendment right to moderate content disseminated on their platforms,” Pitman wrote. “Private companies that use editorial judgment to choose whether to publish content—and, if they do publish content, use editorial judgment to choose what they want to publish—cannot be compelled by the government to publish other content.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/federal-court-declares-texas-social-media-law-designed-to-curb-censorship-unconstitutional/ar-AARowsH
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