Court stops ruling that prevented Biden administration from demanding social media censorship.

A federal appeals court has delivered a temporary victory for the Biden administration. They have successfully obtained a hold on a previous district court ruling that prohibited federal agencies from pressuring social media companies to censor constitutionally protected free speech.

In an exciting turn of events, a three-judge panel for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans has granted the Biden administration’s request to put the censorship-by-proxy ban on hold. This “temporary administrative stay” will remain in effect until the case is referred to a different appeals panel for further deliberation.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has declined to comment on Friday’s decision, leaving us eagerly awaiting further updates.

This latest development is part of an ongoing saga that began with a censorship-by-proxy lawsuit filed by Louisiana and Missouri against the Biden administration. The lawsuit was prompted by evidence suggesting that federal agencies and their senior staff were pressuring social media companies to censor Americans’ free speech.

A Historic Ruling

On July 4, Judge Terry A. Doughty of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana issued a groundbreaking ruling. The ruling prohibits various government agencies, including the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the State Department, the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from engaging in certain actions concerning social media companies.

According to the injunction, these agencies and their staff members are forbidden from communicating with social media companies in any way that urges, encourages, pressures, or induces the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech. They are also prohibited from flagging content or requesting action from the companies to remove or suppress it.

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, one of the plaintiffs, believes that this case could be one of the most significant First Amendment cases in modern history. He expressed his shock and concern over the government’s attempts to limit American speech, stating that the evidence uncovered during the case is both shocking and appalling.

However, Judge Doughty did make exceptions in his order. Government officials are allowed to contact social media companies to report criminal activity or threats to national security.