US Supreme Court weighs landmark online free speech case

US Supreme Court justices appeared torn on Monday as they heard a landmark pair of cases which could fundamentally alter the future of online free speech.

At issue were Republican-backed laws passed in Florida and Texas limiting tech firms' ability to remove political content they deem objectionable.

Tech giants said the laws, passed after the 2021 Capitol riot, infringed on their right to editorial discretion.

At times justices seemed unsure of how to apply existing law to tech firms.

Industry groups have argued that the laws passed in Florida and Texas violated the right to free speech, which included the freedom of private companies to decide what content to publish on their platforms.