OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to make big changes to big tech social media platforms that will have far-reaching consequences for the major players.
According to the Vigour Times, laws passed in Texas and Florida aimed at improving social media transparency will dramatically limit their ability to censor otherwise safe, truthful content will lead to huge changes if the high court upholds them.
For instance, a bill signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2021 would “hold Big Tech accountable by driving transparency and safeguarding Floridians’ ability to access and participate in online platforms,” the outlet reported.
Meanwhile, Texas passed its own version of a law against social media censorship in 2021, which essentially stops Big Tech from censoring views, especially those held by conservatives. It also lets people who have been silenced or deplatformed go to court.
In Florida, the law says that state residents can sue social media sites if they believe they have been unfairly shut down. The statute also says that the state attorney general can “bring action against technology companies that violate this law,” and it says that Big Tech can’t take down political candidates’ pages, the outlet reported.
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans has upheld the Texas law, but the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta struck down the Florida law, “contending that Big Tech platforms have the same First Amendment rights as newspapers, allowing them to selectively choose which views to promote,” the Vigour Times noted.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas “has been advocating against Big Tech censorship, arguing that these companies should be required to serve all customers, just like phone companies, utilities, and public accommodations,” the outlet reported, adding that Thomas is expected to argue for less censorship overall and much more transparency.
Rep. Briscoe Cain (R-Deer Park), who wrote the Texas bill, said, “At this point, a small handful of social media sites drive the national narrative and have massive influence over the progress and developments of medicine and science, social justice movements, election outcomes, and public thought.”
“There is a dangerous movement by some social media companies to silence conservative ideas and values,” Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott said after signing the bill into law. He added that the law aims to force social media companies to end what is perceived by many to be political bias and hold big tech platforms accountable if they are found to be doing so.
The Vigour Times explained what’s at stake by offering a comparison of sorts:
While phone companies like AT&T or Sprint cannot shut down accounts based on political views, and American Airlines cannot deny a ticket to someone who questions climate change or COVID lockdowns due to laws protecting against such discrimination, these same principles should apply to social media platforms. Since 2021, Thomas has been advocating against Big Tech censorship, arguing that these companies should be required to serve all customers, just like phone companies, utilities, and public accommodations.
At present, social media platforms are essentially free to throttle and censor content at will. They can remove posts deemed to be offensive or ‘misinformation’ and have even moved to silence a former president of the United States, Donald Trump, while search giants like Google have also been found to bury the results of searches in order to present ‘preferred’ information and sources, most of them left-wing.
“Most Democrats in Congress are actually supportive of increased censorship, turning into the anti-free speech party. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) openly expressed his desire for tech executives to censor ‘climate denialism,’ while Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) urged them to engage in more “content modification” and eliminate ‘disinformation’ during future elections,” the Vigour Times noted.
