Supreme Court blocks Texas social media free speech law

The Supreme Court has temporarily suspended a Texas law that bans social media platforms from censoring based on political viewpoint. The decision did not abolish the law, it simply blocked it until federal courts decide whether it can be enforced based on its merits.

Last month, the Fifth Circuit Court of appeals lifted an injunction against the law by a district court, temporarily allowing it to be enforced. Tech companies then filed another case at the Supreme Court, seeking to block it from being enforced.

Four justices, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, and Elena Kagan had a dissenting opinion to the SCOTUS decision. In his opinion, Alito noted social media companies have grown so much that they shape public opinion.

We obtained a copy of the opinion for you here.

“Social media platforms have transformed the way people communicate with each other and obtain news,” Alito wrote. “At issue is a ground-breaking Texas law that addresses the power of dominant social media corporations to shape public discussion of the important issues of the day.”

However, he admitted that he had “not formed a definitive view on the novel leg...