Federal judge restricts Biden officials’ contacts with social media sites

A Louisiana federal court on Tuesday banned parts of the Biden administration from communicating with social media platforms about large amounts of online content, a ruling that could curtail efforts to combat false and misleading narratives about the coronavirus pandemic and other issues.

In the pronunciation Judge Terry A. Doughty of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana said parts of the government, including the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, could not talk to social media companies for “the purpose of insisting, encourage, coerce or in any way incite the removal, removal, suppression or reduction of content containing protected freedom of expression.”

Judge Doughty, in issuing a preliminary injunction, said the agencies could not flag specific posts to the social media platforms or request reports on their efforts to remove content. The ruling says the government can still notify the platforms of reports of crimes, threats to national security or foreign attempts to influence elections.

The ruling was a victory for Republicans and other conservatives who have filed a series of lawsuits accusing the government of persuading or coercing Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media companies to censor their critics. While the administration is likely to appeal the ruling, its impact could be far-reaching, forcing government officials, including law enforcement, not to notify the platforms of troublesome content.

Government officials have argued that they do not have the authority to have posts or entire accounts deleted, but they have long partnered with Big Tech to take action against illegal or harmful material, especially in cases of criminal activity such as child sexual abuse or human trafficking . This also includes regular meetings to exchange information about, for example, the Islamic State and other terrorist groups.

The White House did not immediately comment. Google and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Twitter did not immediately respond.