The U.S. Supreme Court did not appear ready to resolve major questions related to free speech on social media and the regulation of digital platforms after arguments on Monday over two controversial laws passed by Republican-controlled legislatures in Florida and Texas.
. This became a key sticking point in Monday’s arguments despite apparent near unanimous agreement among the justices that the two laws infringed on the platforms’ First Amendment protections.The “first concern” the court should have with regard to the First Amendment would be “the state regulating what we have called the modern public square,” Chief Justice John Roberts said.
“Does the Florida law cover Gmail?” Alito asked about the email service provided by Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet.“Does Gmail have a First Amendment right to delete Tucker Carlson’s or Rachel Maddow’s email accounts?” Alito asked.
But the justices were confused as to how to do this since the case came before them as a challenge to the entire state law.