The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court's ruling that prohibits numerous federal government officials from contacting social media companies.
The appeals court in New Orleans upheld a decision in Missouri v. Biden that came down from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana in July.
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The district judge had placed a preliminary injunction in July prohibiting the defendants, including President Joe Biden, United States Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, and former chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci, from contacting social media companies over content it believes to be misinformation.
"The Fifth Circuit has upheld the district court’s order in our free speech case, Missouri v. Biden, enjoining the White House, Surgeon General, CDC, & FBI from violating the First Amendment rights of millions of Americans," Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey posted on X on Friday.
????BREAKING: The Fifth Circuit has upheld the district court’s order in our free speech case, Missouri v. Biden, enjoining the White House, Surgeon General, CDC, & FBI from violating the First Amendment rights of millions of Americans.
— Attorney General Andrew Bailey (@AGAndrewBailey) September 8, 2023
Missouri v. Biden was originally filed by Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) when he was attorney general of Missouri. The lawsuit alleges that the federal government is influencing social media companies to violate First Amendment free speech rights held by a platform's users.
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Bailey, who was appointed to the position in 2023, said in mid-August that the lawsuit could alter the marketplace of social media companies.
“I think we’ve got to build a wall of separation between tech and state,” Bailey said. “That’s the very purpose of this lawsuit. The wall of separation is needed now more than ever as we move into an election cycle.”