The recent ruling by Judge Doughty in a lawsuit filed by Missouri and Louisiana attorneys general, along with four other plaintiffs, sheds light on instances where social media executives were approached by officials to address the spread of disinformation, particularly concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. The lawsuit included individuals such as epidemiologists Jayanta Bhattacharya and Martin Kulldorff, who questioned the government’s handling of the pandemic, Professor Aaron Kheriaty, who was dismissed by the University of California, Irvine for refusing to get vaccinated, Jill Hines, a director of Health Freedom Louisiana accused of spreading disinformation, and Jim Hoft, the founder of Gateway Pundit, a right-wing news site.
It is worth noting that although the lawsuit named President Biden and officials from multiple government agencies as defendants, some of the incidents mentioned occurred during the Trump administration. Judge Doughty, appointed to the federal court by former President Donald J. Trump, has become known for favoring conservative cases. He previously blocked the Biden administration’s national vaccination mandate for healthcare workers and overturned the ban on new federal leases for oil and gas drilling.
Judge Doughty granted the plaintiffs extensive discovery and allowed depositions from high-profile officials like Anthony S. Fauci. Despite Fauci’s assertion that he had no involvement in discussions regarding online content censorship, Judge Doughty expressed skepticism about this argument when he denied a motion to dismiss the case back in March.
Critics of the ruling, including experts in First Amendment law and misinformation, have voiced their concerns. Jameel Jaffer, the executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, argued that the government’s engagement with social media platforms regarding content moderation decisions and policies should not be considered a violation of the First Amendment. He believes that if that is the court’s position, it would be a radical proposition not supported by existing case law.
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