Can Texas and Florida Ban Viewpoint Discrimination on Social Media Platforms?

This week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in NetChoice v. Paxton and Moody v. NetChoice, which involved challenges to attempts by Texas and Florida to prevent social media sites from banning viewpoint discrimination. The challenges were brought by NetChoice, which argues that the laws’ content-moderation restrictions and must-carry provisions violate the First Amendment. The case could determine the future of our most important platforms, from Facebook to X to YouTube. Alex Abdo of the Knight First Amendment Institute and Larry Lessig of Harvard Law School recap the key issues in both cases; discuss the ideas raised in oral arguments; and preview the wide-ranging impacts these cases may bring.    

Resources: 

• Moody v. NetChoice (oral argument via C-SPAN; transcript) 
• NetChoice v. Paxton (oral argument via C-SPAN; transcript) 
• Larry Lessig, Amicus Brief in Support of Respondents 
• Alex Abdo, Amicus Brief in Support of Neither Party 
• Lochner v. New York (1905) 
• PruneYard Shopping Center v. Robins (1980) 
• Zauderer v. Office of Disc. Counsel (1985) 
• Rumsfeld v. FAIR (2006) 

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