SECOND OPINION

DOJ Plans to Appeal Ban on Biden Administration’s Social Media Contacts

A Trump-appointed federal judge ruled that officials likely violated the First Amendment in how they communicated with social media companies about disinformation.

The U.S. Department of Justice plans to appeal a federal judge’s decision to bar key Biden administration agencies and more than a dozen top officials from interacting with social media companies for the purpose of content moderation, according to a report Wednesday in Bloomberg News. In a 155-page opinion handed down Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty—a Trump appointee—ruled that the administration likely violated the First Amendment by liaising with social media firms about removing posts circulating alleged misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic, vaccines, and election security. The companies that the preliminary injunction applies to include “Facebook/Meta, Twitter, YouTube/Google, WhatsApp, Instagram, WeChat, TikTok,” according to Doughty’s order.