The Biden administration revealed on Wednesday plans to appeal a judge’s order blocking several government agencies and officials from contacting social media companies.
Lawyers with the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a notice of appeal in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, setting up a clash over U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty’s judgement on July 4.
Doughty, who was nominated to his position by former President Donald Trump, granted the injunction in a lawsuit brought in 2022 by the GOP attorneys general of Louisiana and Missouri over alleged collusion between the federal government and social media companies to censor “disfavored” speech in violation of the First Amendment.
Although there has not been a final ruling in the case, the judge’s order restricts a number of officials and agencies from meeting or communicating with social media companies “for the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the…
