The Department of Justice is appealing a federal judge’s order barring Biden administration officials and agencies from communicating with social-media platforms.
U.S. District Court Judge Terry Doughty issued a preliminary injunction on Tuesday blocking some federal agencies and officials, including the FBI and DHS, from communicating directly with social-media platforms. The temporary injunction specifically named high-ranking White House appointees, including DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency leader Jen Easterly.
Hours before the appeal was filed, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated that Biden administration officials “certainly disagree with this decision.”
The ruling was issued in response to a lawsuit filed by the attorney generals of Missouri and Louisiana arguing that federal officials overstepped their mandates during the pandemic and curtailed conservative speech.
Judge Doughty, who was appointed by President Trump, wrote that he is likely to side with the plaintiffs on the merits of the case and issued a temporary injunction preventing communication between the government and big tech companies — apart from matters concerning criminal activity or national-security threats — until the case is resolved.
“The Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits in establishing that the Government has used its power to silence the opposition,” Doughty wrote in court filings published on Tuesday.
“Opposition to COVID-19 vaccines; opposition to COVID-19 masking and lockdowns; opposition to the lab-leak theory of COVID-19; opposition to the validity of the 2020 election; opposition to President Biden’s policies; statements that the Hunter Biden laptop story was true,” the federal judge continued. “All were suppressed.”
“It is quite telling that each example or category of suppressed speech was conservative in nature. This targeted suppression of conservative ideas is a perfect example of viewpoint discrimination of political speech. American citizens have the right to engage in free debate about the significant issues affecting the country.”
Senator Eric Schmitt (R., Mo.), who served as the state’s attorney general until January 2023, welcomed the decision. “Today’s court win is a huge win for the First Amendment and a blow to censorship,” the Missouri Senator wrote on Independence Day.
“Orwellian Ministry of Truth exposed,” he added a few hours later.
Schmitt’s counterpart, Louisiana attorney general Jeff Landry, was similarly pleased with the outcome. “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,” Landry told the Associated Press.
Following the news, the White House defended its conduct with social-media platforms.
“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,” an unnamed official told CNN.
“[We have] promoted responsible actions to protect public health, safety, and security when confronted by challenges.”