Tech

Texas’ Weird Social Media Law Suspended by Supreme Court


Of Texas HB20 was granted an adjournment by the Supreme Court on Tuesday, at five hours and four minutes. As is typical for urgent requests, the majority did not specify its reasons; Justice Alito wrote a six-page dissident article starring conservative colleagues Gorsuch and Thomas, while Kagan, a moderate, wrote that she would “reject her application to leave the country.” back” without signing the dissent.

The bill – which has been bound in court since it was passed by the state Assembly and signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott last September – targets “censorship” by online platforms, as far as possible. In recent years conservatives do not want to adopt any form. content moderation with moderation. It refers to major social platforms as “regular service providers” similar to telecommunications companies, but uses that logic to limit the platforms’ ability to limit the spread. , ban or remove content based on “user opinion” Yes or no That point of view is expressed on the platform.

It’s no surprise that the content, users and views that advocates for the law say are unfairly targeted: like Texas Tribune report Last year, Governor Abbott said he believes social platforms are working to “silence conservative ideas.” [and] religious beliefs”. Written that “the record in this case confirms that the Legislature intends to target major social media platforms deemed biased against conservative views.”

Urgent application to the Supreme Court to suspend HB20 has been filed in the first day of this month by two tech industry groups – NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) – after a Fifth Circuit court overturned the ban on the law, did so in a 2- 1 surprisingly with no explanation given. Netchoice members include Airbnb, TikTok, Amazon and Lyft among others; Apple, Google, eBay, Meta and others count themselves among those associated with the CCIA. Advisor to NetChoice at the time said Protocol that the Texas law is “unconstitutional” and would force “online platforms to host and promote foreign propaganda, pornography, pro-Nazi speech, and spam.”

These same concerns were given new urgency in the wake of the Buffalo, New York shooting, in which a white extremist gunman killed 10 people and wounded 3 others in the process. a predominantly black neighborhood while live-streaming the carnage. Social media companies have been working to remove copies of footage from their services. Even if they did, the question still wondering about whether those removals would lead to Texas taking these platforms to court. The confusion over the application of the law is not limited to interested observers either: in a Twitter exchange with Techdirt’s Mike Masnick, the bill’s sponsor appeared to be uncertain about how such situations would play out.

One related law in Florida, using a similar joint carrier approach, most of its key provisions were found unconstitutional by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month. The question of the constitutionality of HB20 will continue to be referred to the Fifth Circuit Court.

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