Table of Contents
‘So to Speak’ podcast: What does the First Amendment protect on social media?
![Graphic of So to Speak host Nico Perrino](/sites/default/files/styles/379x213/public/2022/10/%E2%80%98So-to-Speak%E2%80%99-podcast-featured-image-First-Amendment-social-media.jpeg.webp?itok=6QlKx3mQ)
FIRE
Does the First Amendment to the United States Constitution protect a private social media company’s right to moderate content on its platform?
A new ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit says it does not, and that a Texas law preventing viewpoint discrimination on social media platforms is constitutional.
The issue is likely bound for the Supreme Court, setting up what is arguably the most consequential First Amendment legal case in a half-century.
Institute for Free Speech chairman and founder Brad Smith and George Mason University law professor Ilya Somin join us to debate the ruling and the future of free speech on the internet.
Show notes:
- Podcast transcript
- Texas social media law, HB 20
- 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in NetChoice v. Paxton
- 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in NetChoice v. Attorney General, State of Florida
- Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996
- Pruneyard Shopping Center et al v. Robins et al. (1980)
- Masterpiece Cakeshop, LTD. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018)
- “Governor Newsom Signs Nation-Leading Social Media Transparency Measure”
- Packingham v. North Carolina (2017)
Subscribe and listen to “So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast” on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify, or download episodes directly from SoundCloud.
Stay up to date with “So to Speak” on the show’s Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram pages, and subscribe to the show’s newsletter at sotospeakpodcast.com.
Have questions or ideas for future shows? Email us at sotospeak@thefire.org.
Recent Articles
FIRE’s award-winning Newsdesk covers the free speech news you need to stay informed.
![Peaceful protest outside the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago](/sites/default/files/styles/334x250/public/2024/08/Peaceful%20protest%20outside%20the%202024%20Democratic%20National%20Convention%20in%20Chicago.jpg.webp?itok=lsoTlJ92)
How Milwaukee and Chicago circumvented free speech at the RNC and DNC
![UN flag at the United Nations in New York.](/sites/default/files/styles/334x250/public/2024/08/UN%20flag%20at%20the%20United%20Nations%20in%20New%20York.jpg.webp?itok=d4MsOX89)
UN may hand authoritarian governments new weapon to silence dissent
![Former President Donald Trump speaks in Detroit on Monday August 26 2024](/sites/default/files/styles/334x250/public/2024/08/Former%20President%20Donald%20Trump%20speaks%20in%20Detroit%20on%20Monday%20August%2026%202024.jpg.webp?itok=o6s4fMOi)
Trump’s proposed constitutional amendment banning flag burning would have unintended consequences
![Rustic road sign covered in kudzu in country field at sunrise.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/334x250/public/2024/08/Rustic%20road%20sign%20covered%20in%20kudzu%20in%20country%20field%20at%20sunrise.jpg.webp?itok=RkY5MPaj)