Washington — The Supreme Court is hearing arguments Monday in a pair of social media cases that could transform online speech.
The two cases concern disputes over Republican-backed laws in Florida and Texas that aim to restrict social media companies from moderating content, which tech groups representing platforms like Facebook and X see as a violation of their First Amendment rights.
The laws, both passed in 2021, came in response to what their backers saw as discrimination by social media platforms. The controversy followed social media companies' decisions to ban former President Donald Trump from their platforms after his handling of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. (Trump's accounts were eventually reinstated.)