Judge rejects Biden appeal to allow contact with social media companies

A federal judge in Louisiana on Monday refused to temporarily hold his own order restricting Biden administration officials from contacting social media companies, leaving the bloc in place.

The ruling was a setback for President Joe Biden, whose lawyers had asked U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty to stay his own order while they appealed.

Doughty, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, said the administration has shown no specific contact needed.

“Defendants do not identify any specific conduct that they claim is lawful but prevented by the court order,” the federal judge said in Monday’s ruling.

Doughty was critical of the Biden administration, saying officials were trying to create an “Orwellian Ministry of Truth” by working with companies like Meta, YouTube and Twitter to suppress views in the midst of the pandemic.

The case was brought by Republican attorneys general in Missouri and Louisiana, who argued that U.S. government officials had gone too far in trying to encourage social media companies to post messages they feared could contribute to vaccine hesitation during the COVID -19 pandemic or could disrupt the elections.

In the original ruling, Doughty banned Biden board members from meeting with executives. And he refused to block his own order while the administration appealed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. The administration may also request a stay from the Court of Appeal.

Doughty’s warrant, issued last week, barred government agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services and the FBI from talking to social media companies for the purpose of “urging, encouraging, coercing, or Induce in any way the removal, removal, suppression, or diminution of content containing protected freedom of speech’ under the free speech clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution.

In his order, Doughty made some exceptions for communications between government officials and the companies, ruling that they could meet to discuss national security and criminal activity.

His order marked a victory for Republicans suing the Biden administration, saying they used the coronavirus health crisis and the threat of misinformation as an excuse to curb views that disagreed with the administration. The GOP has claimed a victory for free speech.

However, critics said the order was broad and unclear and could curb the government’s efforts to combat misinformation on important topics.

Some worry it could hamper efforts to combat false and misleading narratives as Americans prepare for the 2024 presidential election.

And government officials argued that the tech companies control their own misinformation policies and that officials’ comments on issues and policies are viewed as threats.

Monday’s ruling was a setback for President Joe Biden’s administration

The administration also said Doughty’s original remit was too broad and it was unclear about who in the executive branch it covers and what they can or cannot say about important topics discussed on social media platforms. .

Government officials argued the contact was necessary to combat misinformation or thwart criminal activity — especially when it came to misinformation about the COVID vaccine and the 2020 election.

The case involved President Joe Biden’s White House; Google, led by Sundar Pichai; Twitter led by Elon Musk; and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, led by Mark Zuckerberg.

Many Republicans, including Donald Trump himself, argued that conservatives were being unfairly targeted and posts were being taken down by social media platforms. They accused Big Tech companies like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube of censoring their critics.

In the case, the attorneys general said the government’s actions amount to “the most egregious violations of the First Amendment in the history of the United States of America.”

“Big win for the First Amendment this Independence Day,” Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt wrote on Twitter. “I’m proud to have led the fight.”

Doughty agreed, ruling that the states “provide evidence of a massive effort by defendants, from the White House to federal agencies, to suppress speech based on its content.”

Companies involved in the case include Twitter, led by Elon Musk

Google, led by CEO Sudar Pichai

And Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, led by Mark Zuckerberg

He ruled that parts of the government — including the Department of Health and Human Services, the White House, the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation — couldn’t talk to social media companies with “the goal of urging, encouraging, pressurize or induce”. in any way the removal, removal, suppression or diminution of content containing protected freedom of expression.”

Specifically named as excluded from contact were Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, and all Justice Department and FBI employees.

The judge said the agencies and officials could not flag specific posts on the social media platforms or request the removal of content.

The government argued that it had no authority to have posts or entire accounts deleted.

Officials also noted that they have long collaborated with Big Tech to take action against illegal or harmful material, especially in cases of criminal activity such as child sexual abuse or human trafficking or to detect possible terrorist activity.