Algorithmic Choice & the First Amendment: Missouri’s Proposal Under the Microscope
Plus FTC, litigation, and more...
Free Speech: Berin and Santana filed comments explaining why Missouri’s proposed rule—forcing social media platforms to let users choose their own content moderation algorithms—violates the First Amendment. Missouri, in its effort to regulate social media, is disregarding the Court's clear ruling that while the government can enforce competition laws, it cannot force private platforms to host speech they reject.
We joined an amicus brief, written by the ACLU, urging the Fifth Circuit to uphold a district court’s ruling that Texas’s HB 18 violates the First Amendment by attempting to age-gate and censor social media. The brief was featured in MLex (paywall).
FCC: Berin filed comments to the FCC cautioning against the agency’s unprecedented use of a “direct final rule” process to remove regulations without prior public comment or a clear procedural framework in place. We stressed the same concerns about the importance of process in our original comments and reply comments for this proceeding.
FTC: The Daily Economy cited one of Corbin’s City Journal essays on Lina Khan, in an article on the FTC’s long-running antitrust lawsuit against Meta.
In a thread, Andy highlighted comments by Chris Mufarrige—Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the FTC—chiding the Khan FTC for changing the agency’s longstanding, bipartisan mission statement, echoing Andy’s essay in WLF Legal Pulse.
Examining bad policy—cell by cell