Unless the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes, Texans could immediately start suing giants like Meta and YouTube over content moderation decisions they don’t agree with, reports Axios. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed an earlier ruling that had stopped Texas from enforcing its social media law, HB 20, which supporters see as a way to get Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other social media companies to stop what many on the right have long viewed as “censorship” of conservative viewpoints. Critics argue the law is likely to let virtually anyone challenge any content-related decision by the platforms, even though most content moderation involves blocking spam and porn and barring harassment and bullying. “The First Amendment prohibits Texas from forcing online platforms to host and promote foreign propaganda, pornography, pro-Nazi speech, and spam,” said Chris Marchese, counsel for NetChoice, one of the groups appealing the ruling.
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