When Twitter Speaks: Control, Access, and the First Amendment
The Fifth Circuit's long-awaited decision in NetChoice v. Paxton, addressing the Texas social media statute, has prompted significant online attention and debate.
Judge Oldham's opinion weighs dominant communication networks' right to exclude users and control their networks against the ability of states to require non-discriminatory treatment, upholding the statute as constitutional. In contrast to an Eleventh Circuit decision earlier this year, finding state restrictions on content moderation violate the First Amendment, the Fifth Circuit decision rejects the social media firms' claims that their content moderation constitutes speech entitled to First Amendment protection.
Our panelists will examine the extent to which content moderation is speech or expressive conduct, the degree to which states’ power to regulate common carrier affects the constitutional analysis as well as the Supreme Court’s likely resolution of these issues.
Featuring:
Prof. Randy E. Barnett, Patrick Hotung Professor of Constitutional Law, Georgetown University Law Center.
Prof. Eugene Volokh, Gary T. Schwartz Distinguished Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law.
Prof. Christopher S. Yoo, John H. Chestnut Professor of Law, Communication, and Computer & Information Science; Founding Director, Center for Technology, Innovation, and Competition, University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Moderator: Hon. Gregory G. Katsas, Judge, United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit.
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