The dispute also goes back to a larger, long standing debate about whether — and how much — social media companies should be allowed to moderate content on their platforms.
In Texas and Florida, conservative legislators have tried to hamstring social media companies with laws that would effectively ban moderation of any political speech, from boring posts about capital gains tax rates to rabidly pro-Nazi commentary. The laws, blocked by federal courts, also contain mandatory transparency provisions demanding tech giants disclose details of their moderation decisions in a move that Netchoice, the trade association representing social media giants, has argued would violate their First Amendment rights.