A federal judge has issued a ruling that restricts communication between Biden administration officials and social media companies. The decision comes as two Republican state attorneys general challenge the administration's actions to combat disinformation.
Former President Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty granted a preliminary injunction,
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.lawd.189520/gov.uscourts.lawd.189520.294.0.pdf
Prohibiting a wide range of officials from the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Justice, the State Department, and the FBI from engaging in communication with social media companies.
The attorneys general of Louisiana and Missouri, both Republicans, are suing the administration,
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.lawd.189520/gov.uscourts.lawd.189520.1.0.pdf
Alleging a "campaign of censorship." They claim that the Biden administration has collaborated with social media platforms to identify and suppress certain speakers, viewpoints, and content.
The lawsuit argues that the public and private communications between administration officials and social media companies regarding the removal of COVID-19 vaccine-related content, public health measures, election integrity, and other topics violate the First Amendment.
The attorneys general highlighted the Biden campaign's and subsequent administration's calls, along with those of other Democratic lawmakers, to reform Section 230 due to the dissemination of disinformation. The lawsuit characterizes these calls as "threats" and a "campaign of pressure."
Section 230 currently shields social media companies from liability for content posted by third parties on their platforms. The lawsuit also alleges that the Biden administration's collaborative efforts with social media companies to combat COVID-19 and election disinformation amount to "collusion."
As per the injunction, Biden administration officials are prohibited from engaging in communication via email, calls, letters, texts, or meetings with social media companies that aim to persuade, encourage, pressure, or induce the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech on social media platforms, as ruled by Judge Doughty.
However, the ruling does not prevent Biden administration officials from communicating with the platforms regarding criminal activity, national security threats, threats to public safety, or posts intended to mislead voters about voting requirements and procedures.
