Supreme Court Addresses Social Media Censorship in Moody v. NetChoice

The Supreme Court vacated lower court rulings on Florida and Texas laws that sought to prevent social media companies from removing or moderating user content. The Court remanded the cases for further analysis, finding the lower courts had not adequately assessed the laws' full scope and how they apply to different types of platforms and activities.

The majority opinion acknowledged that social media platforms engage in editorial discretion protected by the First Amendment when they curate and moderate content on their feeds. However, the Court noted the laws might be valid as applied to certain platform functions, such as direct messaging or email services.

The decision left many questions unresolved but established that the First Amendment does protect editorial choices by social media platforms, rejecting the argument that platforms are common carriers with no editorial discretion.