Monday promises to be a big day at the U.S. Supreme Court, as the justices are poised to hear arguments in a case centered on free speech and government coercion as related to Big Tech platforms such as Facebook, as the Washington Examiner reports.
Specifically, the jurists will consider the case of Murthy v. Missouri, a controversy stemming from claims that the Biden administration pressured media companies to censor content, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The case was initially brought forward by Republican attorneys general in Missouri and Louisiana, and it is set to shape the landscape regarding how far the First Amendment goes regarding expression on social media and the role of government in determining content moderation standards.
It was back in 2022 that the AGs sued the Biden administration on claims that the federal government colluded with Big Tech executives to remove posts and viewpoints with which officials did not agree.
COVID-19 vaccine skepticism and criticism of mask mandates were among the topics most heavily censored, according to the plaintiffs.
As the litigation has progressed, the attorneys general have unearthed email communication between administration officials and social media companies that appeared to involve coercive pressure to reduce the visibility of opinions contrary to their own.
A key aspect of Monday’s arguments will be whether the individuals and entities whose content was subject to the alleged censorship suffered actual injury as a result.
Further, the justices will consider whether discussions between administration officials and platform executives which appeared to facilitate the government’s desired outcome constituted state action for purposes of First Amendment review.
Court watchers have emphasized the potential importance of Murthy, as it is the latest in a series of cases examining governmental interaction with social media platforms amid criticism from conservatives who assert that their viewpoints are the ones that tend to face the most censorship and discrimination in this realm, as Bloomberg notes.
Kate Ruane of the Center for Democracy and Technology opined, “The 2024 U.S. elections are rapidly approaching, and with them come increased risk for disinformation, unfounded accusations of election interference, and other disruptive behavior that will be designed to undermine our electoral process and democracy itself.”
“Social media companies are poised to play an outsized role in both the propagation and the mitigation of those risks,” Ruane added.
Kevin Goldberg of the Freedom Forum told the Examiner that Murthy “is a really important case at this moment because we’re trying to balance the level of input government can have in the content moderation policies and practices of privately owned companies.
Murthy represents the fifth case in the current Supreme Court term centered around social media and First Amendment concerns, a fact which demonstrates the need for new clarity on the thorny issues the relationship between government and Big Tech implicates.
The justices’ take on the key questions presented in Murthy is expected to be handed down by the end of June at the latest, when all eyes will once again be on the high court.
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Author: Daily Conservative Staff Writers
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