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(Slip Opinion) OCTOBER TERM, 2023 1 Syllabus NOTE: Where it is feasible, a syllabus (headnote) will be released, as is being done in connection with this case, at the time the opinion is issued. The syllabus constitutes no part of the opinion of the Court but has been prepared by the Reporter of Decisions for the convenience of the reader. See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337. SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES Syllabus MOODY, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF FLORIDA, ET AL. v. NETCHOICE, LLC, DBA NETCHOICE, ET AL. CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT No. 22–277. Argued February 26, 2024—Decided July 1, 2024* In 2021, Florida and Texas enacted statutes regulating large social-media companies and other internet platforms. The States’ laws differ in the entities they cover and the activities they limit. But both curtail the platforms’ capacity to engage in content moderation—to filter, prioritize, and label the varied third-party messages, videos, and other content their users wish to post. Both laws also include individualizedexplanation provisions, requiring a platform to give reasons to a user if it removes or alters her posts. NetChoice LLC and the Computer & Communications Industry Association (collectively, NetChoice)—trade associations whose members include Facebook and YouTube—brought facial First Amendment challenges against the two laws. District courts in both States entered preliminary injunctions. The Eleventh Circuit upheld the injunction of Florida’s law, as to all provisions relevant here. The court held that the State’s restrictions on content moderation trigger First Amendment scrutiny under this Court’s cases protecting “editorial discretion.” 34 F. 4th 1196, 1209, 1216. The court then concluded that the content-moderation provisions are unlikely to survive heightened scrutiny. Id., at 1227–1228. Similarly, the Eleventh Circuit thought the statute’s individualizedexplanation requirements likely to fall. Relying on Zauderer v. Office of Disciplinary Counsel of Supreme Court of Ohio, 471 U. S. 626, the —————— *Together with No. 22–555, NetChoice, LLC, dba NetChoice, et al. v. Paxton, Attorney General of Texas, on certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

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Moody v. NetChoice

Case Law

Country

United States

Country Location

Latitude: 39.778231903243785

Longitude: -100.8801256788983

Country Location (linked Case Law): United States

Decision Date: Jul 1, 2024

Case Status: In progress

Case Outcome (Procedural)

Reversed and Remanded

Keywords

Content Moderation
Social Media

Judicial Body: Supreme Court (court of final appeal)

Court Name: U.S. Supreme Court

Case Number: 22–277 and 22–555

Case Summary: The U.S. Supreme Court held that the Fifth and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeals failed to adequately analyze the facial First Amendment challenges to the constitutionality of laws enacted by Florida and Texas regulating content moderation on social media platforms. The states of Florida and Texas enacted two laws limiting content moderation on digital platforms and social networks, prohibiting “censorship” based on users’ views, and requiring companies to provide detailed explanations to users about content moderation decisions. Petitioner NetChoice—a coalition of companies that own digital platforms and social networks—filed a facial challenge to these laws, arguing that they violated the First Amendment. The states of Florida and Texas argued that the rules were designed to balance the marketplace of ideas on social networks. Two separate district courts granted preliminary injunctions halting the enforcement of both laws. The Eleventh Circuit Court affirmed the injunction against the law in Florida, holding that it likely violated the First Amendment. At the same time, the Fifth Circuit Court vacated the injunction against the law in Texas, arguing that content moderation is a form of censorship, not a form of speech protected by the First Amendment.

The U.S. Supreme Court reversed both circuit courts’ decisions and remanded the cases for further proceedings, emphasizing that the First Amendment protects the editorial discretion of social media platforms. The Court considered that a facial First Amendment challenge to a statute requires the petitioner to demonstrate that a substantial portion of the statute’s applications is unconstitutional. In this regard, the Court held that the broad scope of the contested laws, which deal with various activities beyond content moderation, required a more precise analysis to determine their constitutionality. In addition, the Court held that altering the private editorial decisions of social media platforms violated the First Amendment, which prohibits the government from imposing its own prerogatives regarding the proper balance of ideas on the private sector.

Case Significance: Expands Expression

The Supreme Court’s decision expands freedom of expression by reaffirming the First Amendment’s protection of editorial discretion in favor of social media platforms. This ruling, following an established case law pattern, hinders government interference in the editorial choices of private entities, thereby strengthening safeguards against compelled speech on online social media platforms. This decision upholds the principle by which the government cannot compel platforms to host content in ways that contradict their editorial policies—in the name of balancing the marketplace of ideas. Thus, it broadens the scope of protected speech in online spaces.

It is now up to the lower courts to assess the facial challenge and consider the more complex questions surrounding the scope of the laws and which aspects of the content moderation and disclosure provisions violate the First Amendment. There are still many pending issues, not least whether certain forms of algorithmic sorting may be deemed non-expressive and hence open to regulation. The rejection of this facial challenge has led some court watchers to posit that it could lead to a range of as-applied challenges to many of the aspects of the provisions, which will make their way through the courts over the coming years. Time will tell whether this will result in better laws, but the time has come for courts to apply First Amendment jurisprudence to evolving technologies.

The decision establishes a binding or persuasive precedent within its jurisdiction.

Source URL: Global Freedom of Expression

Collection

Columbia

Date Updated: Oct 18, 2024

Primary Documents

SCOTUS Opinion.pdf
English
Download View

Supporting files

pdf

Brief Of Amici Curiae Article 19: Global Campaign For Free Expression, International Justice Clinic At University Of California-Irvine School Of Law, And Open Net Association, Inc., In Support Of Respondents In No. 22-277 And Petitioners In No. 22-555.pdf373.56 kB

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Brief of The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University as Amicus Curiae in Support of Neither Party.pdf346.82 kB