Judge limits Biden administration contact with social media companies
The judge says certain agencies and officials can't contact social media companies to talk about "protected speech."
LEARN MOREPosted: 6:04 p.m. EDT Jul 10, 2023
The Biden administration is appealing a lower court's ruling that limits the contact that certain administration departments and officials can have with social media companies about alleged misinformation.
On Monday, the administration asked for an emergency stay on the order in the 5th U.S. District Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
The original order, given last Monday, barred parts of the administration from contacting social media companies with the goals of "encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech."
The order applies to agencies including the Department of Health and Human Services and the FBI, and to individuals including Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
In the original case, the attorneys general of Louisiana and Missouri said the federal government was overstepping when it asked social media companies to address content on their platforms that dealt with COVID vaccinations and election security.
The plaintiffs claimed the administration was suppressing free speech by deeming certain content misinformation.
The administration now wants the 5th Circuit to either block the order while the appeal proceeds, or block the order for 10 days while the administration prepares a petition to the Supreme Court.
