A federal judge has weighed in on members of President Joe Biden’s administration and their communications with social media companies.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty of Louisiana issued a 155-page ruling blocking officials from reaching out to social media platforms with the aim of suppressing political views that would otherwise be protected from government censorship.
The Wall Street Journal explained, “The judge’s injunction came in a lawsuit led by the Republican attorneys general of Missouri and Louisiana who alleged that the Biden administration fostered a sprawling ‘federal censorship enterprise’ in its effort to stamp out what it viewed as rampant disinformation circulating on social media.”
The lawsuit claimed government officials pressured social media companies to suppress content about COVID-19 policies, Hunter Biden’s laptop, or election security that they did not like.
According to the Journal, the case was unique in how sweeping the ruling was in limiting how federal officials can communicate with social media companies.
The case Missouri v. Biden alleged the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the State Department’s Global Engagement Center, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency worked with social media companies in “hundreds of meetings about misinformation” to flag “huge quantities of First Amendment-protected speech to platforms for censorship.”
In his ruling, Doughty wrote, “[T]he evidence produced thus far depicts an almost dystopian scenario.”
“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,'” he added.
He also stated the plaintiffs in the case “have presented substantial evidence in support of their claims that they were the victims of a far-reaching and widespread censorship campaign.”
Doughty, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, argued the subjects of efforts to suppress information were almost always conservatives.
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), who filed the lawsuit while he was Missouri’s attorney general, reacted to the news, writing on Twitter, “A Federal Judge in Missouri v. Biden just granted a preliminary injunction prohibiting the FBI, DOJ, DHS [and] other agencies from working with Big Tech to censor on social media.”
“Big win for the First Amendment on this Independence Day,” he added.
🚨BREAKING: A Federal Judge in Missouri v. Biden just granted a preliminary injunction prohibiting the FBI, DOJ, DHS & other agencies from working with Big Tech to censor on social media
— Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) July 4, 2023
Big win for the First Amendment on this Independence Day🇺🇸
I’m proud to have led the fight. pic.twitter.com/59FzDVuI4f
In a brief, the Justice Department — which represented the government defendants — denied the allegations as it said, “The record in this case shows that the Federal Government promoted necessary and responsible actions to protect public health, safety, and security when confronted by a deadly pandemic and hostile foreign assaults on critical election infrastructure.”
Additionally, it argued the injunction would “significantly hinder the Federal Government’s ability to combat foreign malign influence campaigns, prosecute crimes, protect the national security, and provide accurate information to the public on matters of grave public concern such as healthcare and election integrity.”
The Justice Department is expected to appeal the injunction.
