WASHINGTON – A US federal judge on Tuesday restricted some agencies and officials in President Joe Biden’s administration from meeting and communicating with social media companies to moderate their content, according to a court filing.
The requirement was in response to a lawsuit filed by Republican attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri, who alleged that U.S. government officials went too far in efforts to encourage social media companies to address posts that the worried that they could contribute to the vaccine during the COVID-19 pandemic. or overturn the election.
The ruling said government agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services and the FBI could not talk to social media companies “for the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring or otherwise inducing the removal, deletion, deletion or reduction of content”. containing protected free speech” under the free speech clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
A White House official said the Justice Department was reviewing the order and would evaluate its options.
The order also mentioned by name officials, including Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Jen Easterly, who heads the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, in its restrictions .
Judge Terry Doughty, in an order filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, made some exceptions for communications between government officials and businesses, including to warn of national security risks and on criminal activity.
The demand was first reported by the Washington Post.
Tuesday’s order marks a victory for Republicans who had sued the Biden administration, saying it used the coronavirus health crisis and the threat of disinformation as an excuse to clamp down on views that disagreed with the government.
US officials have said they aimed to stamp out misinformation about COVID vaccines to curb preventable deaths.
Parent metaplatforms of Facebook and Instagram (META.O)Twitter and Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) YouTube did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
