The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit blocked Texas’ social media law from taking effect, pending attempts to move the case to the Supreme Court.
The law prohibits social media platforms with more than 50 million users from removing content or users for expressing political views.
We obtained a copy of the order for you here.
While signing the law last year, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said that it was a way to fight social media platforms’ efforts to “silence conservative viewpoints.”
The law was legally challenged by industry groups representing social media companies. However, in September, the Fifth Circuit upheld the law, arguing that it rejects “the idea that corporations have a freewheeling First Amendment right to censor what people say.”
On Wednesday, the court granted a request by NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) to block the law from taking effect until the Supreme Court rules on the case.
“This ruling means Texas’s unconstitutional law will not be in force as the issue of government-compelled dissemination of speech makes its way to the Supreme Court. We are confident these laws will not stand,” CCIA President Matt Schruers said in a statement.
