The Department of Justice announced that it will appeal a ruling blocking agency officials from communicating with social media companies.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty of Louisiana barred more than 40 of President Joe Biden’s administration officials from contacting social media companies concerning “protected speech.” The preliminary injunction was granted in response to a 2022 lawsuit brought by attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri, alleging the government overstepped in its efforts to combat COVID-19 misinformation during the height of the pandemic. On Wednesday, Biden’s DOJ moved to appeal the ruling.
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The DOJ filed a notice of appeal with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, according to Bloomberg.
The agency argues that its contact with social media companies constitutes “necessary and responsible actions to protect public health, safety, and security” during a time of increased risk. It cited health threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and threats to election integrity as necessitating contact between the two parties.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had announced earlier on Wednesday that the DOJ was reviewing the ruling.
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“Our view remains that social media platforms have a critical responsibility to take action or to take account of the effects of their platforms,” she said.
Doughty’s ruling, outlined in a 155-page opinion, was blistering toward the Biden administration, calling its actions regarding social media companies “the most massive attack against free speech in United States’ history,” in which it “almost exclusively targeted conservative speech” and “blatantly ignored” free speech rights.
