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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has placed a temporary pause on a ruling that limits government communication with social media companies regarding Covid-19 and election misinformation until September 22.
Justice Samuel Alito has temporarily halted a lower court order that limited Biden administration officials from contacting social media companies, following an emergency filing from the Justice Department.
A federal court overturned the Biden administration's restrictions on an offshore oil and gas lease sale, granting a preliminary injunction to block the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's limitations, allowing the lease sale to proceed as planned.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has extended the temporary block on an order that restricts President Joe Biden's administration from encouraging social media companies to remove Covid-19 misinformation, allowing more time for the court to consider the administration's request to block the injunction.
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.
