Competition Process

Teams of two high-school students will write an appellate brief, and present oral arguments, addressing these questions: These cases concern laws enacted by Florida and Texas to regulate major social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and X (formerly known as Twitter). The two laws differ in some respects, but both restrict platforms’ ability to engage in content moderation by removing, editing, or arranging user-generated content; require platforms to provide individualized explanations for certain forms of content moderation; and require general disclosures about platforms’ content moderation practices. The questions presented are: 1. Whether the laws’ content-moderation restrictions comply with the First Amendment. 2. Whether the laws’ individualized-explanation requirements comply with the First Amendment. Petitioners will argue that laws' content moderation restrictions and individualized-explanation requirements do comply with the First Amendment. Respondents will argue that laws' content moderation restrictions and individualized-explanation requirements do not comply with the First Amendment.

Judging Criteria

Visit the competition website for the evaluation criteria: https://harlaninstitute.org/virtual-supreme-court/

Participate

Website: https://harlaninstitute.org/virtual-supreme-court/

Managing Organization: The Harlan Institute

Registration Dates