Court Rules CISA Violated 1st Amendment by Encouraging Social Media Censorship of Election Posts

Federal appeals court ruled that cybersecurity agency CISA likely violated 1st Amendment by encouraging social media platforms to restrict election-related speech.
Court expanded injunction to include CISA, saying it facilitated FBI's interactions with tech companies.
Ruling bars CISA from coercing or encouraging platforms to take down or limit spread of social media posts.
Lawsuit filed by GOP state AGs claims CISA worked to silence Hunter Biden laptop story.
Ruling queues case up for Supreme Court as it takes on other major social media law cases.

usatoday.com

Relevant topic timeline:

8/16/2023

Republicans scrutinize Biden White House’s emails with tech platforms

Main Topic: Internal corporate emails from social media companies reveal White House pressure to censor content, sparking concerns about First Amendment rights and government coercion. Key Points: 1. Internal emails from Meta and Twitter, obtained through a federal lawsuit and a congressional investigation, show White House officials requesting the removal of certain posts. 2. Republicans argue that these requests violate the First Amendment rights of tech platforms and their users. 3. Legal experts are divided on whether government pressure to censor content constitutes coercion and a violation of free speech rights. The Supreme Court may need to address this issue.

9/8/2023

Appeals Court Narrows Order Blocking Biden Officials from Urging Social Media Censorship

A federal appeals court has narrowed a judge's order blocking Biden administration officials from communicating with social media companies, reversing much of the controversial order which claimed that the administration engaged in unconstitutional censorship in its efforts to combat Covid-19 disinformation.

9/9/2023

Court Rules White House, CDC Violated 1st Amendment by Pressuring Social Media Censorship

The 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the Biden administration, government health officials, and the FBI likely violated the First Amendment by influencing tech companies to remove or suppress posts on COVID-19 and elections, with the decision limiting the impact to specific government offices and barring coercion of social media platforms.

9/9/2023

Appeals Court Partially Lifts Injunction Barring Biden Officials from Urging Social Media to Remove False COVID and Election Claims

A federal appeals court has upheld an injunction restricting the Biden administration's communication with social media companies, claiming that the administration's efforts to flag false content about COVID-19 and elections likely violate the First Amendment.

9/8/2023

Court Limits Biden Admin's Ability to Urge Social Media Content Removal

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans has ruled that the White House and other government agencies cannot coerce social media platforms to remove posts they dislike, but has narrowed the scope of a lower court's order limiting Biden administration communications with social media companies.

9/29/2023

Supreme Court to Decide if States Can Regulate Social Media Content Moderation

The Supreme Court will consider whether states can control how social media companies moderate content, potentially reshaping the digital public sphere and impacting free speech and democracy.

10/13/2023

Supreme Court Temporarily Allows Biden Administration to Encourage Social Media Companies to Remove Misinformation

The U.S. Supreme Court has maintained a block on restrictions imposed by lower courts on President Biden's administration's ability to encourage social media companies to remove misinformation, pending further review.

10/20/2023

Supreme Court to Review Biden Admin's Authority Over Social Media Companies

Main topic: The Supreme Court's involvement in a case concerning restrictions on contact between federal officials and social media companies. Key points: 1. The Supreme Court is addressing a case that aims to limit communication between government officials and social media companies. 2. The outcome of the case could have significant implications for social media companies' policy-making and content moderation decisions. 3. The Supreme Court has also taken on two other cases related to free speech and social media, involving state laws in Texas and Florida.

10/21/2023

Supreme Court Allows Biden Censorship Efforts to Continue, Overturning Lower Court Ruling

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Biden administration's efforts to coerce social media companies to censor Americans, allowing them to continue contacting these platforms to remove content, which is seen as a setback for free speech.

Topics

Posted 10/3/2023, 11:33:27 PM

Court Rules CISA Violated 1st Amendment by Encouraging Social Media Censorship of Election Posts

Federal appeals court ruled that cybersecurity agency CISA likely violated 1st Amendment by encouraging social media platforms to restrict election-related speech.
Court expanded injunction to include CISA, saying it facilitated FBI's interactions with tech companies.
Ruling bars CISA from coercing or encouraging platforms to take down or limit spread of social media posts.
Lawsuit filed by GOP state AGs claims CISA worked to silence Hunter Biden laptop story.
Ruling queues case up for Supreme Court as it takes on other major social media law cases.

usatoday.com

Relevant topic timeline:

8/16/2023

Republicans scrutinize Biden White House’s emails with tech platforms

9/8/2023

Appeals Court Narrows Order Blocking Biden Officials from Urging Social Media Censorship

9/9/2023

Court Rules White House, CDC Violated 1st Amendment by Pressuring Social Media Censorship

9/9/2023

Appeals Court Partially Lifts Injunction Barring Biden Officials from Urging Social Media to Remove False COVID and Election Claims

9/8/2023

Court Limits Biden Admin's Ability to Urge Social Media Content Removal

9/29/2023

Supreme Court to Decide if States Can Regulate Social Media Content Moderation

The Supreme Court will consider whether states can control how social media companies moderate content, potentially reshaping the digital public sphere and impacting free speech and democracy.

10/13/2023

Supreme Court Temporarily Allows Biden Administration to Encourage Social Media Companies to Remove Misinformation

10/20/2023

Supreme Court to Review Biden Admin's Authority Over Social Media Companies

10/21/2023

Supreme Court Allows Biden Censorship Efforts to Continue, Overturning Lower Court Ruling