Supreme Court to Decide Whether State Laws Limiting Social Platforms Violate Constitution

The Supreme Court agreed Friday to decide whether state laws that seek to regulate Facebook, TikTok, X and other social media platforms violate the Constitution.

Supreme Court to Decide if it will Hear Case of Florida’s Social Media Censorship Law

A federal appeals court unanimously found Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ social media censorship law unconstitutional in May 2022, and upheld a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of the law.

An ‘Assault on the First Amendment’: Recent Legislation in DeSantis’ Florida

Two Florida bills filed by State Rep. Alex Andrade, a Gov. Ron DeSantis ally, on the same day in late February represent “a full-fledged assault on the First Amendment,” says Bobby Block, executive director of the First Amendment Foundation.

DeSantis Didn’t Violate Court Order Blocking ‘Stop WOKE’ Act, Federal Judge Rules

A federal judge ruled Jan. 12 that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration did not violate an order blocking the academic provision of the “Stop WOKE” Act, which restricts race-based discussions in higher education classrooms.

Federal Judge Blocks DeSantis’ ‘Stop WOKE’ Act, Says It’s ‘Positively Dystopian’

Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker blocked a key provision of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “Stop WOKE” Act, citing First Amendment violations of viewpoint discrimination after Florida claimed that public university professors were bound by state-sanctioned speech.

Florida’s ‘Stop WOKE’ Act and the Outrage of Public University Professors

Florida’s “Stop WOKE” Act has ignited fear and outrage from public university educators as a federal judge decides whether to issue a preliminary injunction to block the law’s academic provision which would restrict gender and race-centric discussions and teachings in the classroom.

A Social Media Censorship Law is Upheld in Texas, Lyrissa Lidsky Weighs In

First Amendment lawyer Lyrissa Lidsky weighs in on a recently upheld social media censorship law in Texas that would bar platforms with more than 50 million users from removing content with political viewpoints. A different circuit court in Florida filed a preliminary injunction against a similar law. Since both federal appeals courts disagreed, only the Supreme Court can decide if the platforms have a First Amendment right to censor, or if they don’t.

Ruling Against Florida’s ‘Stop WOKE’ Law is Latest in First Amendment Encroachments

Chief Judge Mark Walker concluded that this law restricted speech and suppressed expression of Florida employers, employees and diversity consultants. He described the provision as “a naked viewpoint-based regulation on speech” that violated the First Amendment.