Conservative justices have expressed concern about laws in Florida and Texas that limit platforms' content moderation policies.
The U.S. Supreme Court has questioned conservative efforts to crack down on alleged liberal bias on social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube.
In arguments before the Supreme Court on Monday, several justices balked at a Republican-led state law aimed at curbing Big Tech companies' alleged censorship of right-wing views.
The tech industry's largest lobbying group is suing Florida and Texas over the law in a case that gets to the heart of the thorny issue of regulating speech in the digital age.
President Joe Biden's administration supports efforts by technology companies to challenge the law, saying it violates the First Amendment, which protects free speech.
Conservative Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. expressed concern about government regulation of the internet in remarks that seemed sympathetic to tech companies.
“Since we're talking about the First Amendment, I question whether our first concern should be with the state regulating what we call the modern public square,” Roberts said.
“The First Amendment limits what the government can do,” Roberts added.
“What the government is doing here is saying, 'You have to do this, you have to transport these people.'”
Fellow conservative judge Amy Coney Barrett also questioned why technology platforms shouldn't enjoy the same discretion as newspapers in deciding whether to publish content.
“If there was an algorithm to do that, wouldn't it be voice?” she said.
Liberal Justice Elena Kagan expressed similar concerns, asking why telling private companies they can't enforce their own content moderation policies isn't a “classic First Amendment violation” .
In an exchange with Biden administration lawyers, conservative Justice Samuel Alito appeared to side with Florida and Texas, asking whether content moderation was “something more than a euphemism for censorship.” Asked.
Six of the nine Supreme Court justices were appointed by Republicans, but reservations expressed by several conservative justices on Monday could leave Florida and Texas laws on the books unchanged. It suggests that the gender is low.
Florida and Texas passed the law after Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) banned former President Donald Trump from posting about the attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters on January 6, 2021. was approved.
Both laws are on hold pending a Supreme Court ruling, which is expected by the end of June.
