The fact that the social media world is too much in our lives brings many positive and negative results. This time, two Washington-based groups representing technology giants such as Twitter, Facebook and Google made an urgent application.
The purpose of this application is to block a Texas law that prevents social media companies from removing posts based on a user’s political ideology. According to the application, the law is causing irreparable damage to the internet and businesses.
Law risks causing ‘irreparable harm’ to businesses
Texas law, which was blocked last year, was reinstated by the 5th District Court of Appeals on Wednesday. The Court of Appeals case was largely successful against efforts by Republican state leaders to regulate the content moderation policies of social media companies.
According to a statement, NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) argues in the filing that the law is unconstitutional and risks causing ‘irreparable harm’ to businesses.
NetChoice consultant Chris Marchese said in a statement that the law “deprives private online businesses of their right to speak, prohibits them from making certain constitutionally protected decisions, and forces them to promote objectionable content.” In addition, Marchese added: “We hope that the Supreme Court will dismiss this case as soon as possible. And we firmly believe that this law is ultimately unconstitutional.” CCIA President Matt Schruers made the following statements.
No online platform, website or newspaper should be directed by government officials to make a specific speech. While opinions differ on whether online platforms should host points of view such as hate speech or Nazi propaganda, the First Amendment leaves that choice to private citizens and businesses, not bureaucrats.
Legal experts and technology groups have argued that such laws violate the First Amendment to the US Constitution. They also warned that they could make it harder for companies to remove harmful and hateful content.
Well, what do you think about this issue? You can share your views with us in the comments section or on the SDN Forum.
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