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Why Uber and Etsy came up so much in the Supreme Court’s social media arguments

The Verge · 6m

During the Supreme Court arguments for social media cases in Florida and Texas, the justices raised concerns while considering ruling without giving complete satisfaction to either side. They expressed skepticism towards the broad provisions of the laws that would force tech platforms to carry certain speech they may not want to. However, they also explored the limits of tech companies' First Amendment rights and sought to determine when these platforms act as conduits for information rather than platforms for free expression. The laws, aimed at countering perceived censorship on social media platforms, have been challenged for violating the First Amendment by industry group NetChoice, which includes Meta, Google, and TikTok among its members. The justices discussed the various challenges against the laws and pondered over the potential applications and limitations of these laws, showing a reluctance to completely insulate the industry from regulation. The court may develop a standard to determine which companies can be subject to such laws, focusing on their expression-related nature of business. As the factual record of the cases was limited, the court might remand the cases to lower courts to gather a more developed record before rendering a decision. The transparency requirements of the laws were not thoroughly discussed during the arguments, but they hold importance in deciding the constitutionality of social media transparency laws overall.