A federal judge in Louisiana has issued a ruling that restricts parts of the Biden administration from communicating with social media companies on “protected speech.”
The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Terry Doughty, an appointee by former President Donald Trump, is in response to a 2022 lawsuit spearheaded by Republican-led states alleging that the administration pressured social media companies to address postings that could result in vaccine hesitancy during the COVID-19 pandemic or affect elections.
Doughty issued a sweeping preliminary injunction barring numerous federal officials and agencies 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,” according to the ruling (read it here).
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, a period perhaps best characterized by widespread doubt and uncertainty, the United States Government seems to have assumed a role similar to an Orwellian ‘Ministry of Truth,’” Doughty wrote in his 155-page opinion.
While the lawsuit named President Biden and officials in 11 government agencies, some of the instances cited took place during the Trump administration.
A White House spokesperson said the Justice Department was reviewing the ruling and evaluating its next steps.
“This administration has promoted responsible actions to protect public health, safety, and security when confronted by challenges like a deadly pandemic and foreign attacks on our elections,” the spokesperson said in a statement to The New York Times. “Our consistent view remains that social media platforms have a critical responsibility to take account of the effects their platforms are having on the American people, but make independent choices about the information they present.”
The ruling is not a final decision on the lawsuit and can be appealed by the Biden administration to the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
