Cite as: 603 U. S. ____ (2024)
5
Opinion of the Court
cases, given the facial nature of NetChoice’s challenges.
But that work must be done consistent with the First
Amendment, which does not go on leave when social media
are involved.
I
As commonly understood, the term “social media platforms” typically refers to websites and mobile apps that allow users to upload content—messages, pictures, videos,
and so on—to share with others. Those viewing the content
can then react to it, comment on it, or share it themselves.
The biggest social-media companies—entities like Facebook and YouTube—host a staggering amount of content.
Facebook users, for example, share more than 100 billion
messages every day. See App. in No. 22–555, at 67a. And
YouTube sees more than 500 hours of video uploaded every
minute. See ibid.
In the face of that deluge, the major platforms cull and
organize uploaded posts in a variety of ways. A user does
not see everything—even everything from the people she
follows—in reverse-chronological order. The platforms will
have removed some content entirely; ranked or otherwise
prioritized what remains; and sometimes added warnings
or labels. Of particular relevance here, Facebook and
YouTube make some of those decisions in conformity with
content-moderation policies they call Community Standards and Community Guidelines. Those rules list the subjects or messages the platform prohibits or discourages—
say, pornography, hate speech, or misinformation on select
topics. The rules thus lead Facebook and YouTube to remove, disfavor, or label various posts based on their content.
In 2021, Florida and Texas enacted statutes regulating
internet platforms, including the large social-media companies just mentioned. The States’ laws differ in the entities
they cover and the activities they limit. But both contain