SCOTUS nixes injunction that limited Biden admin contacts with social networks
Enlarge (credit: Christopher Furlong / Staff | Getty Images News)
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court tossed out claims that the Biden administration coerced social media platforms into censoring users by removing COVID-19 and election-related content.
Complaints alleging that high-ranking government officials were censoring conservatives had previously convinced a lower court to order an injunction limiting the Biden administration's contacts with platforms. But now that injunction has been overturned, re-opening lines of communication just ahead of the 2024 elections-when officials will once again be closely monitoring the spread of misinformation online targeted at voters.
In a 6-3 vote, the majority ruled that none of the plaintiffs suing-including five social media users and Republican attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri-had standing. They had alleged that the government had "pressured the platforms to censor their speech in violation of the First Amendment," demanding an injunction to stop any future censorship.