Supreme Court blocks Texas social media law

The top court voted 5-4 on Tuesday to halt Texas legislation seeking to stop social media platforms from censoring users’ viewpoints. Liberal Justice Elena Kagan joined the court’s conservative justices in the dissent but did not explain the reason. Two technology industry groups filed the emergency request with the Supreme Court to block the law after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a district court’s ruling and allowed the legislation to take effect.

What does the law entail? It would stop social media platforms with at least 50 million monthly active users from taking down posts based on a user’s viewpoint. The legislation would allow users to sue if they believed tech platforms censored their political views. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has said the legislation is a necessary response to social media companies trying to silence conservative viewpoints. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week ruled a similar law in Florida violated the First Amendment.

Dig deeper: Read Carolina Lumetta’s report in The Sift on the Florida ruling.