From CNET: An appeals court has ruled that social media platforms are "indisputably 'private actors' with First Amendment rights." The decision came in response to a Florida law that argued social media companies aren't entitled to First Amendment rights when removing content and users from their platforms.
"With minor exceptions, the government can't tell a private person or entity what to say or how to say it," said the decision, handed down Monday. "[Social media companies'] so-called 'content-moderation' decisions constitute protected exercises of editorial judgment."
The law's provision for social media companies to provide a rationale for every content moderation decision also "violates the First Amendment," the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit -- which oversees appeals from district courts in Alabama, Florida and Georgia -- held.
The case was brought by trade organizations the Computer & Communications Industry Association and NetChoice, which filed for an injunction preventing the law from going into effect.
View: Full Article
