The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a decision confirming that the First Amendment protects companies’ rights to moderate content on their online platforms. In NetChoice, LLC v. Paxton and Moody v. NetChoice, LLC, the Court held that two states’ attempts to restrict social media platforms’ efforts to moderate content posted on their websites must be reassessed by the lower courts. But before sending the cases back down, the Court explained that content moderation, even when conducted by algorithm, is expressive activity protected by the First Amendment, and a state’s interest in promoting ideological balance online does not justify restricting that expression.

On April 21, 2022, Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter gave a spirited keynote address at the University of Chicago, declaring “that the era of lax enforcement is over, and the new era of vigorous and effective antitrust law enforcement has begun.” These are potentially seminal words coming from the head of the DOJ’s Antitrust Division.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued Meta Platforms Inc., Facebook’s parent company, under the Texas Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act (CUBI) and the Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA).