Texas Weighs in on Florida Social Media Decision

Social media companies haven’t successfully argued that their content moderation amounts to “expressive conduct,” Texas argued Tuesday in docket 21-51178 (see 2205090061). Texas Assistant Solicitor General Ryan Baasch highlighted differences between the Texas social media law and a similar law in Florida (see 2205230049). Florida’s hosting obligations are materially different from those under the Texas law, and Florida has made different arguments about editorial discretion, Texas said. The 11th Circuit in its decision in the Florida case didn’t meaningfully explain how social media content moderation policies are materially different from how law schools restricted military access to campuses in Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights (FAIR). The Supreme Court in FAIR found the government could constitutionally block funding from schools if they refused military recruiter access. “In any event, the social media platforms did not advance an argument here that their content-moderation amounts to expressive conduct,” Texas said.