The U.S. appeals court says that big tech companies don’t have the right to control what people say online.
Friday, a U.S. appeals court upheld a Texas law that says big social media companies can’t ban or censor users based on their “point of view.” This was a loss for groups in the tech industry who said the law would turn platforms into safe havens for dangerous content.
The ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, which was made by a vote of 3-0, makes it possible for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on the law. Conservatives and right-wing commentators have said that this is needed to stop “Big Tech” from censoring their views.
In the ruling, Judge Andrew Oldham, who was picked by former President Donald Trump, said, “Today, we reject the idea that corporations have a freewheeling First Amendment right to censor what people say.”
The Texas Legislature, which is run by Republicans, passed the law, and the state’s Republican governor signed it into law.
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NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association, which is made up of companies like Facebook (NASDAQ:META), Twitter (NYSE:TWTR), and YouTube (NASDAQ:GOOGL), were among the tech groups that fought against the law and lost in Friday’s ruling.
They have tried to keep the right to control user content when they think it could lead to violence. They have done this because they are worried that if platforms aren’t regulated, extremists like Nazi supporters, terrorists, and hostile foreign governments will be able to use them.
Friday, the group said it didn’t agree with making private companies treat all points of view the same. “God Bless America” and “Death to America” are both points of view, and it would be unwise and against the Constitution for the State of Texas to force a private business to treat them the same.
Some conservatives have called the ways social media companies do business abusive. As an example, they point to the fact that Trump was banned from Twitter for good after his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. “The risk of more violence being stirred up” was the reason Twitter gave.
The law in Texas says that social media companies with at least 50 million monthly active users can’t “censor” users based on their “viewpoint.” Users or the Texas Attorney General can file a lawsuit to make sure the law is followed.
On Twitter, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called the decision a “massive win for the Constitution and free speech.”
Because the ruling by the 5th Circuit goes against part of a ruling by the 11th Circuit, the people who feel wronged have a stronger case for asking the Supreme Court to look into the matter.
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In May, the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit ruled that most of a similar Florida law violates the companies’ right to free speech and can’t be enforced. [nL2N2XF2O2]
