Justices Question Big Tech Immunity Amid Free Speech Court Fight

When the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a pair of free speech battles over Florida and Texas social media regulations, one federal statute surprisingly returned to the top court’s spotlight: Section 230.

That controversial law providing immunity to internet companies wasn’t part of the questions presented to the court, and it appeared infrequently in the parties’ legal briefs. Still, justices and attorneys mentioned the section of the 1996 Communications Decency Act at least 70 times on Feb. 26 during the back-to-back oral arguments.

The cases were billed as First Amendment disputes after NetChoice, a trade ...