Biden Administration Can Contact Social Media Firms Again as Appeals Court Temporarily Blocks Louisiana Judge's Unusual Order

An appeals court on Friday put a hold on an unusual injunction that restricted some agencies and officials of the Biden administration from engaging with social media firms about moderation.

Appeals Court Grants Biden Administration's Request to Lift Ban Temporarily

Ten days after a Louisiana judge blocked the White House from contacting tech firms to moderate their posts protected by the First Amendment, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans has temporarily paused that order.

According to The Verge, the White House is no longer under that ban until "further orders of the court." As a result of the decision by the appeals court, the administration is no longer obligated to comply with certain restrictions that prevent them from talking to social media companies.

The ban was originally imposed by U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty in Monroe, Louisiana, suggesting that the current administration might be suppressing millions of protected free speech postings by US citizens.

Doughty, a Donald Trump appointee, cited the government's use of "its power to silence the opposition" by suppressing speech opposed to COVID-19 vaccines, election fraud allegations, and issues about President Joe Biden's son Hunter, among other things.

The ban has kept many officials and several government agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and State Department, among others, from meeting and communicating with social media firms for the purpose of "encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech."

The administration's lawyers said the judge's order was overly broad and vague. They noted that it raised questions about what officials can say to tech companies during conversations or in public statements.

The administration has sought an emergency stay of the injunction. However, the judge rejected the requests that he stay his own order pending appeal.

Thus, the administration asked the 5th Circuit to block Doughty's ruling while the case is pursued at the New Orleans appeals court or grant a 10-day block of the order, at minimum, so the government's lawyers could prepare to go to the Supreme Court to seek a longer stay, the Associated Press reported.

The panel of three 5th Circuit judges has not explained the grounds for granting the temporary administrative stay of the judge's injunction.

Preventing Government Agencies to Engage With Social Media Companies

The lawsuit was brought by Republican attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri and several individuals, who alleged that the government officials effectively pressured social media firms to censor posts over concerns they contributed to vaccine hesitancy during the COVID-19 pandemic or spread misinformation about elections.

Friday's order also called for arguments in the case to be set expeditiously. According to Reuters, a three-judge panel will hear the administration's appeal of the judge's order as soon as possible.

This panel will decide if it will keep the order on hold or allow it to go into effect while it decides the case. The tech companies cited in the lawsuit include Twitter, Alphabet's YouTube, as well as Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms.