SCOTUS Blocks Texas Social Media Law

The Supreme Court blocked Texas’ social media law HB 20 from being enforced while under consideration by the lower courts with a 5-4 emergency ruling late Tuesday in NetChoice v. Ken Paxton. Justices Elena Kagan, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch opposed the request from CCIA and NetChoice to vacate the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ lifting of a preliminary injunction against HB 20. The only opinion provided was a dissent from Alito, joined by Thomas and Gorsuch, arguing that the tech groups aren’t likely to prevail on the merits and that by vacating the stay, SCOTUS is interfering with the authority of lower courts and the Texas state government. “The preliminary injunction entered by the District Court was itself a significant intrusion on state sovereignty, and Texas should not be required to seek preclearance from the federal courts before its laws go into effect,” Alito wrote. Said CCIA in a release: “We are encouraged that this attack on First Amendment rights has been halted until a court can fully evaluate the repercussions of Texas’s ill-conceived statute ... This ruling means that private American companies will have an opportunity to be heard in court before they are forced to disseminate vile, abusive or extremist content under this Texas law.” The Texas Attorney General’s office did not immediately comment.