A U.S. District Judge has issued an injunction against multiple federal government agencies talking to social media about 'encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech.'.
Judge’s order limits government contact with social media operators, raises disinformation questions | AP News | Kevin McGill, Matt O'Brien, & Ali Swenson:
July 5, 2023 - "U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, a conservative nominated to the federal bench by former President Donald Trump, chose Independence Day to issue an injunction blocking multiple government agencies and administration officials. In his words, they are forbidden to meet with or contact social media companies for the purpose of 'encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech.'
"The order also prohibits the agencies and officials from pressuring social media companies 'in any manner' to try to suppress posts, raising questions about what officials could even say in public forums. The Justice Department file[d] a notice of appeal and said it would also seek to try to stay the court’s order....
"The lawsuit alleges that government officials used the possibility of favorable or unfavorable regulatory action to coerce social media platforms to squelch what the administration considered misinformation on a variety of topics, including COVID-19 vaccines, President Joe Biden’s son Hunter, and election integrity.
"The injunction — and Doughty’s accompanying reasons saying the administration 'seems to have assumed a role similar to an Orwellian "Ministry of Truth"' — were hailed by conservatives as a victory for free speech and a blow to censorship. Legal experts, however, expressed surprise at the breadth of the order, and questioned whether it puts too many limits on a presidential administration.... Administration attorneys, in past court filings, have called the lawsuit an attempt to gag the free speech rights of administration officials themselves.
"Justin Levitt, a law professor and constitutional law expert who is a former policy adviser to the Biden administration, said the order is unclear as to whether an official could even speak publicly to criticize misinformation on a social media platform. Elizabeth Murrill, an assistant Louisiana attorney general, said Wednesday that the order doesn’t infringe on such public criticism, as long as the official doesn’t threaten government action against the platform.
"Jennifer Grygiel, a communications professor and social media expert at Syracuse University, said Americans should resist the urge to dismiss the case as politically motivated and remain vigilant about the risks of federal encroachment on social media platforms. 'I’m more concerned that we’re lacking critique in the government’s intervention in these spaces,' Grygiel said. 'We need, as a public, to be very critical of any attempts by a government, a federal actor, to censor speech through a corporate entity.'"
Injunction blocks Biden administration from working with social media firms about 'protected speech' | 6abc Philadelphia | July 5, 2023:
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