Washington – The Computer & Communications Industry Association joined NetChoice, Chamber of Progress, and TechNet in filing a joint amicus brief Monday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit urging the full court to rehear a case brought by Twitter against Texas Attorney General Paxton.
The brief comes in response to Paxton’s retaliatory investigation into Twitter’s content moderation practices and argues that content moderation serves vital functions and is a constitutionally protected expression of editorial discretion.
CCIA has advocated for free speech online for more than 25 years. This advocacy includes the First Amendment right of private businesses to express their values and protect their communities through editorial judgment.
The following can be attributed to CCIA President Matt Schruers:
“We are alerting the Court to the dangers of letting the Panel’s incorrect interpretation stand. This ruling undermines the Constitutional protections that digital services need to protect their communities. The Panel misunderstood Twitter’s challenge to Paxton’s overbroad, retaliatory investigation and mischaracterized the First Amendment concerns when it dismissed this case.
“Companies like Twitter have the First Amendment right to engage in content moderation or decide what content to host online. Now more than ever, we should want digital services taking actions to protect users from dangerous content and foreign propaganda.”