Lobbying groups representing Facebook, Twitter, Google and other tech companies filed an emergency petition with the US Supreme Court on Friday, seeking to block a Texas law that prohibits large social media platforms from banning users based on their political views.
The Texas law took effect Wednesday when the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted the state’s request to stay a district judge’s injunction blocking the law.
The law prohibits social media companies with more than 50 million monthly active users from banning members based on their political views and requires them to publicly disclose how they moderate content.
It was signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, in September.
Internet lobbying groups NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association filed suit against the measure, and US District Judge Robert Pitman in Austin, Texas, issued a preliminary injunction in December.
Pitman found that the law would harm social media companies’ free speech rights under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
The tech groups, in their emergency application, asked the Supreme Court to “allow the careful reasoning of the District Court to remain in effect while an orderly appeal process takes place.