Ep. 172 What does the First Amendment protect on social media?

Does the First Amendment to the United States Constitution protect a private social media company’s right to moderate content on its platform?

A new ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit says it does not, and that a Texas law preventing viewpoint discrimination on social media platforms is constitutional.

The issue is likely bound for the Supreme Court, setting up what is arguably the most consequential First Amendment legal case in a half-century.

Institute for Free Speech Chairman and Founder Brad Smith and George Mason University law professor Ilya Somin join us to debate the ruling and the future of free speech on the internet.

Show notes:

• Transcript
• Texas social media law, HB 20
• 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in NetChoice v. Paxton
• 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in NetChoice v. Attorney General, State of Florida
• Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996
• Pruneyard Shopping Center et al v. Robins et al. (1980)
• Masterpiece Cakeshop, LTD. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018)
• “Governor Newsom Signs Nation-Leading Social Media Transparency Measure”
• Packingham v. North Carolina (2017)

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