Court eases curbs on Biden administration's contacts with social media firms

A federal appeals court on Friday ruled the White House, the FBI and top health officials may not "coerce or significantly encourage" social-media companies to remove content the Biden administration considers misinformation, including about COVID-19.

But the three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals narrowed much of an injunction issued by a Louisiana judge that restricted Democratic President Joe Biden's administration from communicating with social-media companies.

The court placed that injunction on hold for 10 days so the administration could seek the U.S. Supreme Court's review. The U.S. Department of Justice, which is defending the administration, declined to comment.