Justice Alito’s Question in Supreme Court Hearing Leaves People Stunned

A question asked about the newspaper “weight” of YouTube by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, during arguments about state laws that could affect how social media platforms regulate content, has sparked reactions on social media.

In almost four hours of arguments on Monday, the justices questioned aspects of laws adopted by Republican-dominated legislatures and signed by Republican governors in Florida and Texas in 2021.

The details vary, but both laws aimed to address conservative complaints that the companies were censoring users based on their viewpoints, especially from those on the political right. They were passed in the months after Facebook and Twitter, now known as X, banned former president Donald Trump over his posts related to the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.

Tech trade groups NetChoice and Computer & Communications Industry Association representing the social media companies sued the states in federal court, claiming the laws violated the platforms’ free speech rights and would prevent them from removing extremism and hate speech.

A federal appeal blocked Florida’s statute, while another upheld the Texas law. However, both are on hold pending the outcome at the nation’s highest court.

Much of the back-and-forth between the justices and attorneys during Monday’s arguments was over how to think about the platforms, either like newspapers with broad free-speech protections or telephone companies susceptible to broader regulation.

Alito, part of the court’s conservative majority, expressed concern about whether editorial protections that newspapers have are applicable to social media platforms.

“Let’s say YouTube were a newspaper, how much would it weigh?” the 73-year-old asked at one point, prompting laughter, according to a transcript of the arguments.

Paul Clement, NetChoice’s lawyer, responded that it would be “an enormous amount” which is why editorial discretion is needed to make the platforms “useful.”

Alito’s question prompted mockery on social media.

One viral post on X included a screenshot of the question, with the user writing: “*olympic swimmer sized bong hit.*”

Some said the question was a sign of Alito’s age, and wondered if the justice knew what YouTube was.

“Anyone who would ask that question is too old to be on the bench,” one person wrote.

Another posted: “Hot Take: You should not be allowed to rule on things you don’t understand. Alito should have recused himself on grounds of stupidity.

Another wrote: “How much does YouTube weigh? Totally with technology these days.”

While one said that “multiple geriatrics on the Supreme Court are more dangerous than a decent older man in the White House.”

However, some users posted that it was a “decent point in context,” while others sought to figure out the literal answer.