Texas Law Prohibits Social Media Companies from Blocking Users Over Their Opinion Reinstated by Appeals Court 

A federal appeals court ruling has provided the way for a controversial Teas law that will empower any state resident banned from social media platforms for their political views to sue.

On Wednesday, the 5th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals set aside a temporary injunction that a federal judge issued in December. 

The law will come into effect while judges weigh an appeal to the lower court decision. 

Two trade groups, acting for Facebook parent Meta Platforms, Alphabet’s Google and Twitter, have sued Texas over the law. The law is motivated by the social media suspensions of ex-President Donald Trump, post the January 6 attack on the Capitol, and the belief among some conservatives that the companies censor right-wing views.

They debate that the First Amendment allows social media enterprises to regulate and eliminate content on their platform as they see fit. Social media organizations’ remarked that they do not target conservatives; only content such as hate speech and extremism is focused on violating their rules. 

“Multiple federal judges have affirmed over the years that online platforms have a First Amendment right to decide what appears on their platforms, and these judges chucked that principle overboard,” CEO of Chamber of Progress Adam Kovacevich said in a statement. 

Various states are contemplating legislation restricting how social media platforms monitor people’s speech; however, none have reached this far. A similar bill was blocked in Floria by a federal judge in June before it.

Bills like these motivate conservatives who believe that their First Amendment rights are questioned and violated when social media posts are labeled or eliminated or when their accounts are blocked for violating the policies and norms of social media platforms.