Appeals court halts ruling that prevents Biden administration from communicating with social media platforms
For the time being, officials from the Biden administration have the freedom to engage in communication with social media companies. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has temporarily halted Judge Terry A. Doughty’s ruling, which restricts most federal officials from discussing content matters with companies like Meta. As per The New York Times, a three-judge panel has decided to set aside Doughty’s preliminary injunction “until further orders of the court.”
If you recall, the Attorney Generals of Louisiana and Missouri filed a lawsuit against President Joe Biden and other top government officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci. They accused the current administration of pressuring social media companies to censor certain topics and remove content. The Washington Post reports that the lawsuit is based on emails between the administration and social networks, in which the former questioned the companies’ response to posts on their websites that contain conservative claims about the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 presidential election, as well as anti-vaccine sentiment.
Judge Doughty, a Trump appointee, said the plaintiffs “produced evidence of a massive effort by the defendants” to “suppress speech based on its content.” He also wrote in his decision that if the allegations are true, “this case is probably the most massive attack on free speech in the history of the United States.” His order prohibits federal agencies, which include the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Homeland Security, from asking online platforms to remove content “using protected free speech.” However, they could be in contact with those entities in matters related to criminal activity, national security, and the election of foreign actors.
Conservatives have long believed that mainstream social media platforms are biased against right-wing ideologies. This had led to the launch of conservative-affiliated social networks such as Parler and Donald Trump’s Truth Social. State attorneys argued that federal officials crossed the line by threatening antitrust actions against social networks and limiting their Section 230 protections, which allow Internet companies to control content on their platforms as they see fit. It’s worth noting that former President Trump previously signed an executive order seeking to limit the federal protections provided by Section 230 after Twitter reviewed a false tweet it sent.
The Justice Department appealed Doughty’s order the day after it was issued, arguing that it was overly broad and could limit the government’s ability to warn people about false information in emergencies. Apparently, the administration has already felt the effects after its planned meeting with Meta to discuss strategies to combat foreign disinformation campaigns was canceled. This stay allows federal agencies to continue working with online platforms until the court can further investigate the appeal. The Court of Appeal has ordered that the oral proceedings of the case must be accelerated so that a final decision can be made in the near future.
