Yesterday, the Fifth Circuit reinstated the Texas law HB 20 which attempts to regulate social media platforms. You can read the bill here:
https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/872/billtext/html/HB00020S.htmSpecifically, the bill prevents social media companies from "censoring" people, with the following definition:
Sec. 143A.002. CENSORSHIP PROHIBITED. (a) A social media
platform may not censor a user, a user's expression, or a user's
ability to receive the expression of another person based on:
(1) the viewpoint of the user or another person;
(2) the viewpoint represented in the user's expression
or another person's expression; or
(3) a user's geographic location in this state or any
part of this state.
(b) This section applies regardless of whether the
viewpoint is expressed on a social media platform or through any
other medium.
it applies to not just Texans, but also anyone who does business in Texas (potentially including anyone working for a company that operates in Texas) or some vague notion of "shares or receives expression in this state."
Sec. 143A.004. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. (a) This chapter
applies only to a user who:
(1) resides in this state;
(2) does business in this state; or
(3) shares or receives expression in this state.
If you're censored, you can claim $10 for every censored message, or $25,000 for each day you spend being censored.
The decision to uphold this law, which is clearly unconstitutional, was a 2-1 Fifth Circuit decision. Since the court had one normal conservative W appointee and two MAGA Trump appointees, most people are assuming this decision is basically a consequence of Trump's impact on the judiciary.
Since the definition of "censorship" is so broad and vague, it is basically impossible for social media companies to operate. For instance, Texas could immediately start fining Twitter $25,000 per person for every day that Trump, Milo, MTG, Alex Jones, Jacob Wohl, Laura Loomer, Roger Stone, Michael Flynn, Steve Bannon, Sidney Powell, Mike Lindell, James O'Keefe, etc. are banned from Twitter. Plus all the racist yahoos who will claim they were banned just for being conservative.
Will the decision stand? Since it's brazenly unconstitutional, my guess is no. But hey, with a judiciary and supreme court like this, you never know. We're living in Mitch McConnell's dream world right now and the Texas state legislature forcing Twitter to add all the 1/6ers back is every MAGA's fantasy. Of course Twitter will probably just stop operation in Texas before that happens, in the unlikely event that this law is allowed to stand.
