Supreme Court invites Biden admin to submit legal briefs on Florida, Texas social media cases

The Supreme Court has invited the Biden administration to offer its legal opinion on the Florida and Texas laws that allow social media users to sue platforms over censorship.

"The Solicitor General is invited to file briefs in these cases expressing the views of the United States," the Supreme Court said in an order Monday. Elizabeth Barchas Prelogar is the U.S. solicitor general, making her the fourth-ranking Justice Department official. She is in charge of supervising the United States' litigation in the Supreme Court.

The laws, which are currently both blocked, were challenged by NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association, technology groups that represent Twitter, Alphabet's YouTube and Meta's Facebook. The groups argued that the laws violated the First Amendment rights of the companies.

Florida is seeking to reinstate the social media law after a lower court mostly ruled against it. The technology groups are appealing a decision from another lower court that upheld the Texas law, which was later blocked by the Supreme Court, Reuters reported.

"These cases could impact what internet users can see and do and are being closely watched by constitutional scholars, state legislators, and a range of businesses and websites that host user content online. The outcome of today’s request for Solicitor General input means the court would likely not take up this matter until next session," the Computer & Communications Industry Association stated Monday.