A federal judge has denied the Biden Justice Department’s request for a stay on a ruling that imposes stringent limitations on government communication with social media companies. The judge, Terry A. Doughty, rejected the administration’s argument that the broad order could impede law enforcement efforts to safeguard national security.
Judge Doughty clarified that his order includes exceptions for communications pertaining to criminal activity, national security threats, cyberattacks, and foreign interference in elections. He pointed out that the Biden administration failed to provide any specific examples of communications covered by the injunction that could cause serious harm to the American people or democratic processes.
In his denial of the stay, Judge Doughty, who was appointed by Trump, emphasized that the preliminary injunction is not as all-encompassing as it may seem. It solely prohibits an action that the defendants have no legal right to engage in – contacting social media companies with the intent to manipulate or suppress content that contains protected free speech on these platforms.
Civil rights groups, academics, and tech industry officials express concerns that the order, which enforces restrictions on numerous health and law enforcement agencies and officials across the federal government, could undermine efforts to combat disinformation on social media. They caution that the judge’s injunction could potentially unravel the safeguards put in place to protect U.S. elections following the Russian interference revelations in 2016.
Judge Doughty further noted that the Republican state attorneys general who initiated the lawsuit are likely to demonstrate that various government agencies and officials played a role in coercing, encouraging, or participating in the suppression of social media posts that expressed anti-vaccination views or questioned the outcomes of the 2020 elections.
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