Judge Says Biden Admin Can't Push Social Media Platforms to Delete Content
Summary from the AllSides News Team
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Biden administration officials can't communicate with 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."
The Details: Judge Terry A. Doughty of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana also ruled that federal officials and agencies can't flag specific posts or inquire about platforms' efforts to monitor content. He specified that the government can still notify platforms about posts detailing "criminal activity, national security threats, extortion, or other threats."
For Context: The Biden administration has coordinated with social media companies to suppress what it deems misinformation, leading some to accuse it of censoring dissent. The administration has also funded the Global Disinformation Index, a ranking of the "worst offending websites" it rates as being at "high risk for disinformation."
Key Quotes: "If the allegations made by plaintiffs are true, the present case arguably involves the most massive attack against free speech in United States’ history," the judge said.
How the Media Covered It: The New York Times (Lean Left bias) said the ruling "could curtail efforts to combat false and misleading narratives about the coronavirus pandemic and other issues." Some right-rated outlets said the judge suggested that the Biden administration "likely violated the First Amendment" in efforts to moderate certain narratives, especially about COVID-19.
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From the Center
Joe Biden's Social Media Ban Explained as Judge Restricts White HouseOn Tuesday, a Trump-appointed judge in Louisiana prohibited a three-page list of federal agencies and U.S. President Joe Biden's administration from working with social media companies to limit or censor "protected free speech" on their platforms.
In a case brought by the attorneys general of Missouri and Louisiana in 2022 against Biden and other members of his administration, Judge Terry A. Doughty ruled that officials had overstepped their constitutional remit by asking the online firms to suppress coronavirus vaccine "disinformation."
While Biden administration officials had sought for social-media companies to address posts...
From the Right
Biden Admin Can’t Coordinate With Social Media To Suppress Speech, Federal Judge RulesA federal judge issued an injunction Tuesday ruling that the Biden administration likely violated the First Amendment when it worked with social media companies to censor opposing views.
Calling the censorship “Orwellian,” Judge Terry A. Doughty of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, stated that Republican attorneys general of Louisiana and Missouri “have produced evidence of a massive effort by Defendants, from the White House to federal agencies, to suppress speech based on its content,” the Washington Post reported.
Doughty barred members of the Biden administration — including officials...
From the Left
Federal Judge Limits Biden Officials’ Contacts With Social Media SitesA federal judge in Louisiana on Tuesday restricted the Biden administration from communicating with social media platforms about broad swaths of content online, a ruling that could curtail efforts to combat false and misleading narratives about the coronavirus pandemic and other issues.
The order, which could have significant First Amendment implications, is a major development in a fierce legal fight over the boundaries and limits of speech online.
It was a victory for Republicans who have often accused social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube of disproportionately taking down...
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