FIRE statement on Moody v. NetChoice and NetChoice v. Paxton

Today, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Moody v. NetChoice and NetChoice v. Paxton that the government cannot force social media companies to distribute speech against their will. The decision could have major ramifications not only for social media platforms but also for other internet forums and websites that moderate their users’ speech.

The following statement can be attributed to FIRE Chief Counsel Robert Corn-Revere:

Today’s ruling makes clear there’s no social media exception to the First Amendment. The government has no business dictating to platforms what opinions they must host. The court rightly rejects the idea that lawmakers have more authority over speech online than they do offline. That’s a big win for free speech and a free internet.

Earlier this year, FIRE filed an amicus curiae — "friend of the court" — brief in support of NetChoice, an industry trade group for social media platforms and other internet companies, and argued that the First Amendment affords all publishers the same speech and press protections, whether they publish on a printing press, a movie screen, or an online platform. Read the amicus brief here.

For more information, please contact media@thefire.org.