Appeals Court Reinstated Texas Law That Prohibits Social Media Banishment Out Of “Viewpoints”

Texas lawmakers voted in favor of prohibiting social media banning arguing that platforms like Twitter or Google have an anti-conservative bias. 

Although the law passed, it will not have effect until a legal case plays out. A federal appeals court -A three-judge panel on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, known to be the most conservative judge panel- backed up the Texas bill that wants to prohibit a ban on social media. 

This initiative was born out of the uncertainty GOP members feel about the anti-conservative bias on big platforms, allegedly seen in concrete cases such as the banishment of former president Donald Trump on January 6th from Twitter, when he incited violence during the Capitol Riots, according to the Texas Tribune.

To prevent this bill, two industry groups that represent Google and Twitter sued to block this law and a federal court district ruled in their favor, arguing that the First Amendment protects the right of private groups to moderate content. Texas General Attorney, Ken Paxton appealed that decision.

However, last year House Bill 20, a similar project, was passed in a special session. This law specifies that every social media with more than 50 thousand users is obligated to publish information regarding account suspensions or content removal.

A federal appeals court has reinstated the Republican bill, taking advantage of the recent purchase of Twitter by Elon Musk. This could overturn the policies of Social Media platforms and permit incendiary or fake content by conservatives.