Can states prohibit social media companies from censoring the speech of their platforms’ users? That’s a question now before the Supreme Court.
The justices heard oral arguments Monday in a pair of major First Amendment cases. The cases stem from laws passed in Texas and Florida in 2021 after a number of social media companies’ deplatforming of then-President Donald Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Following social media companies’ banning of Trump and a number of other conservative voices, both Texas and Florida passed laws preventing social media platforms, such as YouTube and Facebook, from censoring users’ constitutionally protected speech.
But two trade associations challenged those laws on behalf of the social media companies.
The trade groups argue that social media companies’ decisions about what speech they censor is an…
