Biden officials blocked from colluding with Big Tech in major censorship case:

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Biden officials blocked from colluding with Big Tech in major censorship case: 

by Haisten Willis, White House Reporter

 

A federal judge has blocked contact between Biden administration officials and social media companies, ruling that the two were working together to censor speech.

The judge, Trump appointee Terry A. Doughty, made the preliminary injunction in response to a lawsuit from Republican attorneys general in Missouri and Louisiana that alleged government officials and social media companies collaborated to suppress speech based on content.

 

LET INDEPENDENCE DAY MEAN INDEPENDENT THOUGHT, NOT GROUPTHINK

"The Court has granted our motion to BLOCK top officials in the federal government from violating the First Amendment rights of millions of Americans," Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey tweeted. "What a way to celebrate Independence Day."

 

The suit stems largely from efforts made during the pandemic to address social media posts related to COVID-19 policy. The attorneys general accused the Biden administration of creating a sprawling federal "Censorship Enterprise," the Washington Post reported, encouraging Big Tech companies to remove disfavored speech.

 

The pair called it “the most egregious violations of the First Amendment in the history of the United States of America.”

While the judge hasn't made a final ruling, he said the plaintiffs had produced evidence of a "massive effort" from the White House and federal agencies to "suppress speech based on its content." Doughty allowed for exceptions to the communication block, including national security threats and criminal activity.

Collaboration between the government and Big Tech during the pandemic has been controversial for years now.

In one famous exchange, then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in July 2021 the administration was "flagging problematic posts for Facebook," leading a reporter to ask how long the administration had been spying on people's profiles.

In subsequent Twitter posts, Bailey said the injunction prohibits nearly all of the federal government, including the Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of Homeland Security, from colluding with social media companies and prevents key officials from participating.

DHS briefly introduced a disinformation governance board last year, which was shut down after fierce criticism.

"The federal government cannot be trusted to protect Americans' rights, which is precisely why our Founders enshrined the First Amendment into the Constitution," Bailey tweeted.

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A White House official said the Justice Department is reviewing the decision.

"DOJ is reviewing the court’s injunction and will evaluate its options in this case," the official said. "This administration has promoted responsible actions to protect public health, safety, and security when confronted by challenges like a deadly pandemic and foreign attacks on our elections. Our consistent view remains that social media platforms have a critical responsibility to take account of the effects their platforms are having on the American people, but make independent choices about the information they present."