Supreme Court punts on constitutionality of Texas and Florida social media laws

The Supreme Court on Monday punted challenges to Texas and Florida laws that regulated social media content moderation after major platforms were accused of banning users based on their viewpoints.

"The judgments are vacated, and the cases are remanded, because neither the Eleventh Circuit nor the Fifth Circuit conducted a proper analysis of the facial First Amendment challenges to Florida and Texas laws regulating large internet platforms," Justice Elena Kagan wrote in a unanimous majority decision involving the two state laws.

Technology industry group NetChoice sued the states of Texas and Florida over laws imposed by Republicans meant to hold social media platforms accountable for banning users based on viewpoint.

Florida’s law would allow residents to take legal action and the state to fine companies if they remove political candidates from social media platforms. The Texas law would require platforms to be “content-neutral” and allow the state’s attorney general and residents to sue platforms for removing content or blocking accounts.

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During oral arguments, justices pressed the states to provide a justification for restricting speech while also asking questions aimed at determining the extent of Big Tech’s power over speech on the internet.

Multiple members of the court appear skeptical of Florida’s law, noting that it was very broad and affected more platforms than some claimed it would.

This is a developing story and will be updated.