TALLAHASSEE, FL—A new, pro-Biden Supreme Court ruling dealing with the federal government allegedly censoring conservatives online may bode poorly for Governor Ron DeSantis in a soon-to-be-decided Florida case, in which he's argued that his 2021 law banning social media companies from taking down conservative posts is valid and necessary.
Social media companies disagree.
And, based on the Wednesday ruling for Biden and against Republican states, the Florida case may follow a similar path in going against conservatives.
"The Court majority has rubber-stamped a way for the federal government to censor speech that it doesn’t like," DeSantis posted on X soon after the 10 A.M. decision was released. "The Court iƒs telling would-be censors: you can’t directly censor speech but if you pursue a sophisticated plan with enough subtlety you can get away with doing indirectly what the Constitution clearly forbids you from doing directly."
The Supreme Court case decided today was brought by Missouri and Lousiana, who claimed that the Biden Administration's efforts to take down controversial posts—specifically those involving COVID and election security—are unconstitutional. In other words, they believe the federal government is encouraging social media platforms to silence conservative voices.
The court sided against the states in a 6-3 vote, though not because of their argument's substance. Instead, they said, it was because Missouri and Louisiana did not have the legal standing to sue.
“We begin—and end—with standing,” Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote. “At this stage, neither the individual nor the state plaintiffs have established standing to seek an injunction against any defendant. We therefore lack jurisdiction to reach the merits of the dispute.”
Meanwhile, Florida and another Republican state, Texas, are locked in a separate yet similar Supreme Court battle centered around state laws passed in 2021—on the heels of the January 6th Capitol raid—designed to prevent social media companies from taking down conservative posts. Florida's Stop Social Media Censorship Act imposes penalties ranging from $25,000 to $250,000 for a social media company’s “deplatforming of a political candidate or journalistic enterprise.”
Social media platforms have challenged the constitutionality of these laws, though the last action in this case was in February when the court heard oral arguments. However, a decision is expected by the end of this month which at the time of this story, is just four more days.
Considering one very similar social media case was decided today, the fate of Florida and Texas' own social media legal endeavors appears dubious.
