Biden administration appeals against ban on social media contacts
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The injunction issued on Tuesday barred government agencies from talking to social media companies to moderate their content.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LOUISIANA – The Biden administration on Wednesday appealed against a federal judge’s ruling
The notice of appeal filed on Wednesday signals the government’s plan to ask the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans to review the ruling in a lawsuit challenging the Biden administration’s efforts to persuade social media companies to police posts it considered disinformation.
The lawsuit, brought by Republican attorneys-general in Louisiana and Missouri, alleged that US government officials went too far in efforts to encourage social media companies to address posts they worried could contribute to vaccine hesitancy during the Covid-19 pandemic or upend elections.
The injunction issued on Tuesday barred government agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation from talking to social media companies for “the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression or reduction of content containing protected free speech” under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution.
Judge Terry Doughty, in an order filed with the US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, made some exceptions for communications between government officials and the companies, including to warn about risks to national security and about criminal activity.
His order marked a win for Republicans who sued the Biden administration, saying it was using the coronavirus health crisis and the threat of misinformation as an excuse to curb views that disagreed with the government.
US officials have said they were aiming to tamp down misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines to curb preventable deaths. REUTERS
