{"id":2001635,"date":"2023-08-15T17:47:01","date_gmt":"2023-08-15T21:47:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-asks-scotus-to-strike-down-texas-and-florida-content-moderation-laws\/"},"modified":"2023-08-15T17:49:22","modified_gmt":"2023-08-15T21:49:22","slug":"white-house-asks-scotus-to-strike-down-texas-and-florida-content-moderation-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-asks-scotus-to-strike-down-texas-and-florida-content-moderation-laws\/","title":{"rendered":"White House urges SCOTUS to invalidate Texas and Florida content moderation laws."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhite-house-asks-scotus-to-strike-down-texas-and-florida-content-moderation-laws%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2001635&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>The U.S. Solicitor General Urges\u200d Supreme Court to Review \u200cOnline Content\u2064 Moderation Laws<\/h2>\n<p>The \u2062U.S. Solicitor General has asked \u200dthe Supreme Court to review online content moderation \u2063laws brought by\u200d Florida\u200c and Texas\u2014encouraging SCOTUS to \u200dstrike down relevant \u200dportions of these laws that would\u2063 restrict moderation on social media platforms.<\/p>\n<p>The two laws passed in Florida and\u200b Texas prohibit social media\u2063 companies\u2064 from banning users based on political viewpoints. As such,\u2062 they restrict the ability\u2062 of platforms like Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube to moderate content even if such content violates the terms and conditions of \u200bthe \u200cwebsite. \u2064Courts have been divided over the matter.<\/p>\n<p>The 11th \u200cCircuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta\u2062 had blocked most of Florida\u2019s law from coming into effect, arguing they violate the First Amendment.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>Related Stories<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/rep-jordan-touts-weaponization-panels-role-in-exposing-government-big-tech-censorship-5462692\">Rep. Jordan \u2064Touts Weaponization Panel&#8217;s \u2063Role in Exposing Government\u2013Big Tech Censorship<\/a><br \/>\n      <br \/>\n      <span>8\/14\/2023<\/span>\n    <\/li>\n<li>\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/article\/stock-market-today-wall-street-slips-following-mixed-reports-on-us-job-market-big-tech-earnings-5445368\">Stock Market Today: Wall Street Slips Following Mixed Reports \u2064on US \u2064Job Market, Big Tech Earnings<\/a><br \/>\n      <br \/>\n      <span>8\/4\/2023<\/span>\n    <\/li>\n<li>\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/article\/elon-musk-threatens-to-sue-anti-hate-and-disinformation-group-5434575\">Elon Musk Threatens to Sue Group \u2063That Pressures Big Tech to \u200dBan \u2063Users<\/a><br \/>\n      <br \/>\n      <span>7\/31\/2023<\/span>\n    <\/li>\n<li>\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/world\/new-heritage-minister-open-to-talks-with-big-tech-takes-harder-line-in-media-interview-5429752\">New Heritage Minister \u2063&#8217;Open&#8217; to Talks With\u200b Big Tech, Takes Harder \u200cLine in Media Interview<\/a><br \/>\n      <br \/>\n      <span>7\/28\/2023<\/span>\n    <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Meanwhile, the 5th Circuit from\u2064 New Orleans\u2064 upheld the Texas law\u2064 but left it on hold to allow\u2063 time for a Supreme Court appeal.<\/p>\n<p>In January,\u200b the Supreme Court postponed a decision on whether it would hear the cases, asking the U.S. Solicitor General to weigh in on the \u2063issue.<\/p>\n<p>In \u2063a brief (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/22\/22-555\/275252\/20230814150103525_NetChoice%20Invitation%20Brief%208.9%20--%20For%20Final.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>) filed on Monday, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar stated that conflicting decisions \u2062from circuit courts\u2062 over the Texas and \u2063Florida laws warrant a\u2064 review by the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The Supreme Court\u2064 \u201cshould affirm the Eleventh\u2062 Circuit\u200b and reverse the Fifth Circuit,\u201d Ms. \u200bPrelogar said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe two laws differ in \u200csome\u200c respects, \u2063but both restrict platforms\u2019 ability to\u200c engage in content moderation by removing, editing, or arranging user-generated content; require platforms to \u2064provide \u200bindividualized explanations for certain forms of content moderation; and require general disclosures about platforms\u2019 content moderation \u200dpractices,\u201d the brief said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen a social-media platform selects, edits, and arranges third-party speech\u200d for \u200dpresentation to the public, it engages\u200b in activity \u200bprotected by the First Amendment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe content-moderation and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-asks-scotus-to-strike-down-texas-and-florida-content-moderation-laws\/\" title=\"White House urges SCOTUS to invalidate Texas and Florida content moderation laws.\">individualized-explanation\u200b requirements\u201d set \u200dforward<\/a>\u200b by\u200c the Texas and Florida laws \u201cimpermissibly burden those protected activities.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Florida, Texas, and \u200bother trade\u2062 groups involved in the lawsuits\u200d had earlier asked\u2063 the Supreme \u2062Court to intervene on at least some of the case issues.\u200d The Supreme Court could decide \u200don whether it would hear the lawsuits as soon as next month.<\/p>\n<h2>Florida and \u2063Texas Laws<\/h2>\n<p>The laws central to the cases are Senate Bill \u2062(SB) 7072 signed into law in Florida in May\u2064 2021 \u2063and House Bill (HB) 20 signed into law in September 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Florida\u2019s SB\u200b 7072 \u201cprohibits a social \u2063media platform from willfully deplatforming\u200d a candidate for political office,\u201d \u2062according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flsenate.gov\/Committees\/billsummaries\/2021\/html\/2345\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bill<\/a> \u200d summary.<\/p>\n<p>Violating the \u2062rule would allow the Florida\u200d Elections Commission \u201cto fine a social media platform $250,000 per\u200b day for\u2063 deplatforming\u2064 a \u2063candidate for statewide office and $25,000 per day for\u2064 deplatforming any other candidate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/supreme-court-temporarily-blocks-texas-social-media-anti-censorship-law-4503784\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Texas\u2019 HB 20<\/a> makes \u200cit unlawful for tech companies to remove or restrict content based on \u201cthe viewpoint of the user or another person\u201d or \u201cthe viewpoint represented \u200bin \u2062the user\u2019s expression.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>HB 20 applies to\u2062 platforms that \u200chave over \u200d<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/babylon-bee-censorship-shows-why-fifth-circuit-should-uphold-texas-social-media-law\/\" title=\"Babylon Bee Censorship Shows Why Fifth Circuit Should Uphold Texas\u2019 Social Media Law\">50 million active monthly users<\/a> in the United States. \u200cIt also requires platforms\u200b to establish\u2064 procedures that\u2063 would allow users \u2062to appeal any content removal done by the network.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Texas Gov. Greg Abbott\u2062 speaks at a \u2062press conference in Houston, Texas, on Sept. 13, 2022. (Brandon Bell\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>NetChoice, one of the parties to the cases against the Texas and Florida laws, welcomed Ms. Prelogar\u2019s brief asking for Supreme Court involvement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Solicitor \u2062General\u2019s brief \u200bunderscores that\u2062 both Texas and Florida\u2019s\u200b laws are unconstitutional and that the Court should \u200breview our cases,\u201d Chris Marchese, NetChoice\u2062 Director of Litigation, said in an Aug. 14 statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe urge the Court to strike\u200d down Texas and Florida\u2019s laws and reaffirm that the Constitution prohibits\u2064 the government from controlling online speech.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Governors of Florida and Texas had earlier \u2062supported the respective laws from their states, arguing that\u200d such measures are necessary to ensure that conservative voices are not silenced.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Big \u200dTech\u2064 censors enforce rules inconsistently, to discriminate in favor of the dominant\u200d Silicon \u2062Valley\u2064 ideology, they \u200dwill now \u200bbe held accountable,\u201d Florida\u2019s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis said about Senate \u200bBill 7072 while signing it into law back in May 2021.<\/p>\n<p>When Texas\u2019 Republican Governor\u200d Greg Abbott signed\u2064 HB 20 in September 2021, \u2063he pointed out that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/state-legislatures-push-to-fight-big-tech-but-experts-warn-of-limitations\/\" title=\"State Legislatures Push to Fight Big Tech, but Experts Warn of Limitations\">social media websites<\/a>\u2064 are \u2063\u201cour modern-day\u200c public square\u201d where \u201cinformation should be able to flow freely.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Biden\u2013Big Tech Censorship<\/h2>\n<p>Ms. Prelogar\u2019s brief at \u200dthe Supreme\u2064 Court comes amid reports of censorship collusion between the federal government and Big Tech.<\/p>\n<p>In recent weeks, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio)\u2063 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/kick-people-off-rep-jordan-releases-new-info-on-biden-facebook-covid-19-censorship-5443006\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">released\u2063 documents<\/a> showing that the Biden administration and \u2063Facebook worked together to censor content and users on its platform, dubbing it \u201cThe Facebook Files.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The documents,\u200b obtained by the House Judiciary Committee, show that \u2063the collusion aimed at restricting the online reach of \u2063sites \u2063like the New York Post and also deplatforming users \u200dwhom the administration viewed as undesirable with regard to content about COVID-19.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Elon\u200b Musk&#8217;s photo \u200cthrough a Twitter \u200dlogo on Oct. 28, 2022. (Dado\u200b Ruvic\/Illustration\/Reuters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Back in December, billionaire Elon Musk and independent\u2062 journalist Matt Taibbi <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/article\/censorship-unhealthy-for-public-discourse-big-tech-manipulating-elections-for-some-time-musk-5350518\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">revealed<\/a> \u2063 that former \u2063execs at Twitter suppressed the New York Post\u2019s Hunter Biden laptop\u2064 story \u200cin the weeks leading to the 2020 presidential\u200b election.<\/p>\n<p>The platform also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/infographic-key-revelations-of-the-twitter-files-4986669\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">removed<\/a> content related to the 2020 elections, mail-in voting issues, \u2062and the \u200dCOVID-19 pandemic.\u200b At the time,\u200c the company was \u2063under government\u2062 pressure to purge such content.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Musk acquired Twitter in October last year and has now rebranded\u200d the platform as \u2064\u201cX.\u201d In a June 17 interview with podcast host Zuby, the billionaire pointed out that big platforms like Facebook, Google, and YouTube have \u201cput their thumb on\u200b the scale of elections worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd they have \u200cdone for <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. Solicitor General urges the Supreme Court to assess Florida and Texas&#8217; online content moderation laws. They advocate for the Court to invalidate certain provisions that limit social media platforms&#8217; ability to moderate content, as these laws in Florida and Texas forbid banning users due to political perspectives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":186,"featured_media":2001636,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2001635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2001635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/186"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2001635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2001635\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2001636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2001635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2001635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2001635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}