White House Press Secretary Says They Will Continue “To Promote Responsible Actions” By Social Media Platforms Despite Judge’s Restrictions — Update

Denise Petski
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UPDATE, Wednesday: White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the Justice Department is still reviewing a federal judge’s decision that restricts administration officials from contacting social media companies on “protected speech.”

She declined to say whether there would be an appeal of the decision, which came in response to a lawsuit filed by the attorneys general of Missouri and Louisiana. They claimed that federal government officials were “colluding” with social media giants to censor speech related to Covid-19 and election integrity “under the guise of combatting ‘misinformation.'”

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“We’re going to continue to promote responsible actions to protect public health, safety and security when confronted by challenges like a deadly pandemic and foreign attacks on our elections,” Jean-Pierre said.

“We do disagree with the decision, but the DOJ will come up with their own options.”

In a preliminary injunction, U.S. District Judge Terry A. Doughty named a long list of Biden administration officials, including Jean-Pierre, as well as federal agencies including the FBI, that are restricted from “specifically flagging content or posts on social-media platforms and/or forwarding such to social-media companies urging, encouraging , pressuring, or inducing in any manner for removal, deletion, suppression , or reduction of content containing protected free speech.” They also are prohibited from working with organizations like the Election Integrity Partnership for the purposes of trying to curb posts.

Doughty did make exceptions for administration officials to inform social media companies about posts that involved criminal activity, national security threats and “criminal efforts to suppress voting, to provide illegal campaign contributions of cyber -attacks against election infrastructure, or foreign attempts to influence elections.” They also can inform social media companies of threats “that threaten the public safety or security of the United States.”

n his ruling, he wrote, “During the COVID-19 pandemic, a period perhaps best characterized by widespread doubt and uncertainty, the United States Government seems to have assumed a role similar toan Orwellian ‘Ministry of Truth.'”

He added that the plaintiffs “have presented substantial evidence in support of their claims that they were the victims of a far-reaching and widespread censorship campaign.” Doughty was nominated to the bench by Trump. The attorneys general lawsuit also cites instances that occurred during the Trump administration, when the Covid pandemic started.

Ted Johnson contributed to this report.

PREVIOUSLY, Tuesday: A federal judge in Louisiana has issued a ruling that restricts parts of the Biden administration from communicating with social media companies on “protected speech.”

The ruling Tuesday by U.S. District Court Judge Terry Doughty, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, is in response to a 2022 lawsuit spearheaded by Republican-led states alleging that the administration pressured social media companies to address postings that could result in vaccine hesitancy during the Covid pandemic or affect elections.

Doughty issued a sweeping preliminary injunction barring numerous federal officials and agencies from talking to social media companies for “the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech,” according to the ruling (read it here).

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, a period perhaps best characterized by widespread doubt and uncertainty, the United States Government seems to have assumed a role similar to an Orwellian ‘Ministry of Truth,’” Doughty wrote in his 155-page opinion.

While the lawsuit named President Biden and officials in 11 government agencies, some of the instances cited took place during the Trump administration.

A White House spokesperson said the Justice Department was reviewing the ruling and evaluating its next steps.

“This administration has promoted responsible actions to protect public health, safety, and security when confronted by challenges like a deadly pandemic and foreign attacks on our elections,” the spokesperson said in a statement to the New York Times. “Our consistent view remains that social media platforms have a critical responsibility to take account of the effects their platforms are having on the American people, but make independent choices about the information they present.”

The ruling is not a final decision on the lawsuit and can be appealed by the Biden administration to the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

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