A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction that limits the ability of President Joe Biden‘s administration to contact social media companies such as Facebook and Twitter to encourage them to remove First Amendment–protected speech.
U.S. District Court Judge Terry Doughty, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, ruled Tuesday that some officials and agencies of the Biden administration, including Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, White House press secretary Karine Jean–Pierre, and employees from the FBI and Justice Department, are not allowed contact social media companies to discourage or remove certain content.
The lawsuit was filed by Republican attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri, who argued that the Biden administration had pressured social media outlets to take down content surrounding topics such as Covid–related issues, the 2020 Election results, opposition to President Biden‘s policies, and a story about his son, Hunter.
In his ruling, Doughty said that each topic had been “suppressed” by Biden administration officials due to their holding conservative views. The judge wrote that the government‘s actions were akin to an Orwellian “Ministry of Truth.”
The Justice Department and White House did not respond to Forbes‘ request for comment.
CNN’s @eliehonig decries “activist” ruling ordering Biden to stop censoring Americans: “One of the most aggressive, far-reaching rulings you’ll ever see. [He’s] purporting to micromanage the day-to-day intersection btwn … the entire Executive Branch [& social media companies]” pic.twitter.com/ZMRWhA1B7M
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) July 5, 2023
Walter is a wonderful writer, but not such an impressive thinker. This ruling doesn’t restrict the Biden Admin’s speech at all. It restricts the Biden Admin’s ability to censor, merely enforcing the 1st Amendment. https://t.co/YmPmY748mv
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) July 5, 2023
His first point is completely false. As for the second, it’s almost like — & I’m just spitballin’ here — they wanted 1/6 to happen. I know, I know, shocking stuff. https://t.co/4kYbodGaXO
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) July 5, 2023
Here’s a list of all the censorship activity the departments and individuals named are now banned from engaging in under the federal preliminary injunction issued on July 4. pic.twitter.com/RwcHG5tg8k
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) July 5, 2023
MSNBC is already arguing the Biden Admin can still censor content that “undermines” our “faith” in U.S. elections as that’s a “national security issue” pic.twitter.com/K9yNQvRNMv
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) July 5, 2023
CNN’s @eliehonig decries “activist” ruling ordering Biden to stop censoring Americans: “One of the most aggressive, far-reaching rulings you’ll ever see. [He’s] purporting to micromanage the day-to-day intersection btwn … the entire Executive Branch [& social media companies]” pic.twitter.com/ZMRWhA1B7M
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) July 5, 2023