ScoTUS reinstates injunction blocking Texas social media law

[Chum]

It's more a ruling on procedures relating to the case against Texas' HB 20 law. It restores the injunction that blocks HB 20 from taking effect, while the case against it plays out.

Texas' HB 20 seeks to compel social media outlets to carry political speech. As was widely predicted, a district court ruling blocked the law from taking effect, on grounds that it violated the First Amendment. The injunction was stayed by the 5th circuit, but today the SC reversed that stay and the block is now restored. HB 20 may not take effect at this time.

Today's SC decision is not a ruling on HB 20 itself.

Edited May 31, 2022 by Chum
clarity, fill out the timeline

[Calm]

So what is the basic issue with political speech? Are these outlets blocking all political speech or just the stuff they don’t like?

[the narrator]

12 hours ago, Calm said:

So what is the basic issue with political speech? Are these outlets blocking all political speech or just the stuff they don’t like?

It's simply because Twitter banned Trump for inciting an insurrection.

[The Nehor]

It is basically an attempt to compel large private enterprises to allow all forms of political speech on their platforms regardless of what the owners want to allow.

It would be the death of all social media. Banning or removing people would become next to impossible so social media would quickly be overrun with bots and the worst of the worst. Sane people would all leave.

It also attempts to make it illegal to discriminate based on location so that social media will be unable to just block all users in Texas and most companies would probably leave the United States to reduce chances of prosecution. It is a stupid law written by idiots who don’t know how things work. If I were Twitter or Facebook I would just block all Texas users and watch the Texas mob turn on their leaders.

I am torn. On one hand these laws becoming pervasive would destroy all social media which would probably be a good thing. On the downside doing it this way will just push social media further underground. If Musk buys Twitter he will kill it anyways so that might happen anyways. Turns out he is not some kind of business and engineering genius and is instead just a manchild melting down over not getting his way all the time. Who knew? I mean….other than the people who actually know his history.

And yes, this is mostly about weirdos demanding the “right” to say whatever they want. This isn’t about conservative views. No one is getting banned for wanting to lower taxes and believing in free trade. It is the people advocating for violence and the literal Nazis who are getting banned to which I say: Good, ban more of them.

[provoman]

It is a nice attempt to address the the hypocrisy in so many "social media" platforms.  But they are private companies. Worship of the $ is their right, which leads to double-standards. But for the corporate world it seems $ is more important than consistency.

Edited June 6, 2022 by provoman

[The Nehor]

On 6/6/2022 at 12:21 AM, provoman said:

It is a nice attempt to address the the hypocrisy in so many "social media" platforms.  But they are private companies. Worship of the $ is their right, which leads to double-standards. But for the corporate world it seems $ is more important than consistency.

There is a lot of hypocrisy in social media companies but I don’t get why this specific legislation is an attempt to address it. They are generally pretty tolerant with what they will let people say. Most only ban people who say things that could get the platform in trouble (incitement, calls or plans for violence) or for being openly verbally abusive or for being bots. The last one is the one I wish they would crack down on more. It is disturbing how much social media is being directed by people with a bit of money who can use bots and old unused accounts to drive narratives.

I kind of hope social media dies. There are parts of it I would miss but killing it off would probably lead to a healthier society.

[SteveO]

On 6/1/2022 at 1:58 PM, The Nehor said:

It is the people advocating for violence and the literal Nazis who are getting banned to which I say: Good, ban more of them.

 

[The Nehor]

On 6/8/2022 at 11:47 AM, SteveO said:

 

Unironically this.