People in Texas can now take legal action against social media outlets that censor their content.
On Wednesday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated a Texan law called HB 20 that would allow users on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter to sue social media companies for removing or banning their content. The move comes after Donald Trump was blocked on social media websites.
Yahoo! News reports the law was temporarily placed under an injunction back in December, but it’s now been paused. At the time, the injunction was put in place after it was argued that the law would open up the opportunity to spread false information and hateful content online.
The new law would allow a person to file a lawsuit against social media companies that have more than 50 million active monthly users. The law blocks social media platforms from removing or banning a user’s content over “the viewpoint of the user or another person.”
The federal judge who oversaw the case called the law “prohibitively vague” and said social networks have the right to moderate content under the First Amendment. Texas argued that social media platforms can be considered as “modern public squares.”
