Texas lawmakers have put Big Tech on notice following a ruling last week that makes it illegal to block, ban, remove, deplatform, demonetize, and de-boost posts on social media platforms with 50 million or more US monthly users.
The 15-word ruling will most likely set the stage for an intense debate in the Supreme Court and could further divide a nation struggling to interpret free speech and the First Amendment.
According to MSN, Texas’s law, HB 20, which seeks to address the perceived imbalance, was blocked in December by a district court judge who ruled it was unconstitutional under the First Amendment.
Trade organizations NetChoice and the Computer Communications Industry Association have appealed directly to the Supreme Court, according to The Verge. In a statement, NetChoice counsel Chris Marchese said the law strips private online businesses of their speech rights.
“The First Amendment prohibits Texas from forcing online platforms to host and promote foreign propaganda, pornography, pro-Nazi speech, and spam,” he added.
The Texas attorney general’s that the appeals court made the right decision and said it would continue defending the Texas law.
