The Supreme Court has granted the Biden administration temporary relief by extending a hold on a lower court ruling that prevented the White House and FBI from pressuring social media companies to censor Americans’ posts. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. issued the order, known as an “administrative stay,” which keeps the lower court’s ruling on hold for one more week.
This case has become a significant test of government power and social media. U.S. District Judge Terry A. Doughty criticized the government for engaging in a “widespread censorship campaign” to use social media to suppress opposing views on the coronavirus pandemic and the 2020 presidential election.
The challenge was brought by the states of Missouri and Louisiana, along with some individuals who claimed that social media companies, at the government’s behest, limited the reach of posts expressing conservative-leaning viewpoints. Judge Doughty, in his initial injunction, singled out several government entities and barred them from pressuring social media companies or engaging with them to limit viewpoints.
An appeals court later narrowed the ruling to apply only to the White House, surgeon general, CDC, and FBI, and to prohibit attempts to threaten or coerce social media companies into suppressing or deleting posts. The cybersecurity agency was later added to the modified injunction by the appeals court.
This temporary relief from the Supreme Court gives the Biden administration more time to address the issues raised in the case and develop its legal strategy.
