XPost: alt.censorship, talk.politics.guns, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh   
   XPost: sac.politics   
   From: zinn@reno.us   
      
   Decision upholds Texas law that limited the right of social media   
   companies to squash opinions   
      
   A federal appeals court upheld a Texas law on Friday that seeks to curb   
   censorship by social media platforms. The ruling, a major victory for   
   Republicans who charge companies like Twitter and Facebook are limiting   
   free speech, is a step in a major legal battle that could end up at the   
   Supreme Court.   
      
   The lawsuit is challenging HB 20, a Texas bill signed into law by Gov.   
   Greg Abbott that regulates social media platforms with more than 50   
   million monthly users, which includes Google, Facebook and Twitter, and   
   says they cannot censor or limit users’ speech based on viewpoint   
   expression.   
      
   In his opinion, Federal Judge Andrew S. Oldham of the Fifth Circuit said   
   the platforms argued for "a rather odd inversion of the First Amendment"   
   that "buried somewhere in the person’s enumerated right to free speech   
   lies a corporation’s unenumerated right to muzzle speech."   
      
   "Today we reject the idea that corporations have a freewheeling First   
   Amendment right to censor what people say," Judge Oldham continued.   
      
   KEN PAXTON, PAM BONDI FIRE BACK AT GAVIN NEWSOM: 'WHAT BIDEN IS DOING IS   
   ILLEGAL'   
      
   Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is arguing in defense of HB 20,   
   stated on Twitter Friday, "I just secured a MASSIVE VICTORY for the   
   Constitution & Free Speech in fed court: #BigTech CANNOT censor the   
   political voices of ANY Texan!"   
      
   VERMONT EDUCATION AGENCY SAYS DISTRICTS CANNOT WITHHOLD PUBLIC TUITION   
   MONEY TO RELIGIOUS SCHOOLS   
      
   NetChoice, a nonprofit group representing Meta in the challenge against   
   the Texas law, said in a statement they are "disappointed" with the   
   decision. "We remain convinced that when the U.S. Supreme Court hears one   
   of our cases, it will uphold the First Amendment rights of websites,   
   platforms, and apps."   
      
   Friday’s ruling created what is known as a "circuit split," since the   
   eleventh circuit struck down a similar social media law in Florida. A   
   circuit split generally increases the likelihood of the Supreme Court   
   taking up a case.   
      
   https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fed-court-rules-no-freewheeling-first-   
   amendment-right-to-censor-for-big-tech   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)