Ruling on a lawsuit brought by the states of Louisiana and Missouri, a federal judge has muzzled communications between federal officials and social media companies over concerns about efforts to “censor” Americans’ free speech.
Judge Terry Doughty of the Western District of Louisiana approved an injunction on July 4 to prevent “collusion” between the federal government and big-tech companies. The order was in response to the attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri filing a wide-ranging complaint accusing the Biden administration of conspiring with social media companies to suppress content on their platforms on topics such as COVID-19 vaccines.
“We won a historic injunction against the Biden administration, preventing it from censoring the core political speech of ordinary Americans on social media,” Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said in a prepared statement. “The evidence in our case is shocking and offensive with senior federal officials deciding that they could dictate what Americans can and cannot say on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other platforms about COVID-19, elections, criticism of the government and more.”
The head of a tech company association took a more measured view on the issues raised by the judge’s order.
“We agree with the court that no government actor should jawbone digital services about what lawful content is suitable for their communities,” Matt Schruers, president of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, told the Louisiana Record in an email. “At the same time, hostile foreign actors are present online and public-private information-sharing about these threats can contribute to a safer and more trustworthy internet."
The federal court’s injunction applies to numerous agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, FBI, Department of Justice and White House officials, such as the presidential press security.
“The White House and platforms were 'partners' in censorship,’” Doughty said in the July 4 opinion. “The White House defendants used emails, private portals, meetings and other means to involve itself as 'partners' with social-media platforms. … Faced with unrelenting pressure from the most powerful office in the world, the social media companies apparently complied.”
Administration officials have argued that they were trying to remove misinformation about coronavirus vaccines in order to encourage people to get vaccinated and reduce the virus’ spread and prevent increased mortality, as well as thwart efforts to undermine election integrity.