The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court's ruling that prohibits government officials, including the Biden administration, from contacting social media companies regarding content moderation.
The ruling comes as a result of the lawsuit Missouri v. Biden, which was filed by former Missouri Attorney General and current U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt, along with Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, in May 2022. Jim Hoft, the founder of the Gateway Pundit, was later added as a plaintiff in the case.
According to the Washington Examiner, the District judge had issued a preliminary injunction in July, preventing the defendants, including President Joe Biden, United States Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, and former chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci, from contacting social media companies regarding content they believe to be misinformation.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey took to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, to announce the 5th Circuit's decision. "The Fifth Circuit has upheld the District court's order in our free speech case, Missouri v. Biden, enjoining the White House, Surgeon General, CDC, & FBI from violating the First Amendment rights of millions of Americans," Bailey stated. He further emphasized, "The First Amendment remains intact."
The lawsuit, Missouri v. Biden, was initially filed by Senator Eric Schmitt when he served as the attorney general of Missouri. The lawsuit alleges that the federal government is exerting influence over social media companies, leading them to violate the First Amendment free speech rights of platform users, as reported by the Examiner.
The Biden administration now has ten days to request a review of the case by the Supreme Court.
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