Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Free Speech and Social Media

Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Free Speech and Social Media

The Supreme Court is hearing arguments on Monday on whether the Biden
administration violated the First Amendment in combating what it said
was misinformation on social media platforms.

It is the latest in an extraordinary series of cases this term
requiring the justices to assess the meaning of free speech in the
internet era.

The case arose from a barrage of communications from administration
officials urging platforms to take down posts on topics like the
coronavirus vaccines and claims of election fraud. Last year, a
federal appeals court severely limited such interactions.

Alex Abdo, a lawyer with the Knight First Amendment Institute at
Columbia University, said the Supreme Court's review of that decision
must be sensitive to two competing values, both vital to democracy.

"This is an immensely important case that will determine the power of
the government to pressure the social media platforms into suppressing
speech," he said. "Our hope is that the Supreme Court will clarify the
constitutional line between coercion and persuasion. The government
has no authority to threaten platforms into censoring protected
speech, but it must have the ability to participate in public
discourse so that it can effectively govern and inform the public of
its views."

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/03/18/us/supreme-court-social-media#supreme-court-white-house-misinformation