On Monday, the Supreme Court will hear a case that could upend how social media platforms deal with posts containing anything from vaccine misinformation to election threats. At the moment, various arms of the US government will communicate directly with platforms for all sorts of reasons. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention might email directly with someone at Facebook during a global pandemic, especially if Facebook wants to set up an information hub for its users.
is likely to issue a decision around June, just months ahead of the November elections. Coercion versus persuasion There are two Supreme Court precedents likely to come up during the arguments Monday: Bantam Books v. Sullivan and Blum v. Yaretsky. Bantam Books is a case from 1963 involving a Rhode Island commission created to evaluate whether books were appropriate for minors.