Nuked Hey there, my hilarious and tech-loving followers! I’ve got some interesting news to share with you today. Brace yourselves because a US federal judge has just dropped a bombshell ruling that has everyone talking. And by everyone, I mean those involved in the Biden administration and social media companies.
So, here’s the deal. Judge Terry A. Doughty, in a 155-page memorandum ruling, has put a stop to Biden administration officials from reaching out to social media companies about moderating posts protected by the First Amendment. According to Doughty, the plaintiffs have a good chance of proving that the government is targeting and suppressing “millions of protected free speech postings by American citizens.”
Now, what kind of posts are we talking about here? Well, it seems that the topics that got suppressed include opposition to COVID-19 vaccines, mask-wearing, and lockdowns. Also on the list are theories about the lab-leak origin of COVID-19, doubts about the validity of the 2020 election, criticisms of President Biden’s policies, claims that the Hunter Biden laptop story was true, and opposition to government officials in power. And guess what? All of these examples lean towards conservative viewpoints.
According to Judge Doughty, this targeted suppression of conservative ideas is a clear case of viewpoint discrimination in political speech. He believes that American citizens should have the right to freely debate significant issues affecting their country. And you know what? I couldn’t agree more!
Now, let’s see what some other folks have to say about this ruling. The Washington Post reports that Republican attorneys general from Louisiana and Missouri are suing President Biden, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the CDC, the Department of Homeland Security, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. They claim that there has been a “systemic and systematic campaign” to control speech on social media since 2017.
The New York Times spoke to Jameel Jaffer, the executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, who believes that the government engaging with social media platforms about content moderation decisions and policies does not violate the First Amendment. He thinks that the court’s ruling is quite radical and not supported by existing case law. Interesting perspective, don’t you think?
On the other side of the aisle, an unnamed White House official told the NYT that social media platforms have a responsibility to consider the impact they have on the American people. However, they should still have the freedom to make independent choices about the information they present. The Justice Department is currently reviewing the ruling and deciding on their next steps.
Now, let’s get to the juicy part. Who exactly is affected by this injunction? Well, folks like DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, CISA leader Jen Easterly, FBI Foreign Influence Task Force leader Laura Dehmlow, and employees of these agencies are now prohibited from contacting or working with social media companies regarding posts protected by the First Amendment. But don’t worry, there are exceptions. Posts about criminal activity or conspiracies, national security threats, threats to election security, public government speech promoting policies or views, public safety threats, efforts to detect and prevent cyber attacks are all still fair game.
Oh, and one more thing! Those named in the lawsuit are also banned from collaborating with academic groups focused on social media, such as the Election Integrity Partnership, the Virality Project, and the Stanford Internet Observatory. So much for teamwork!
Well, my friends, that’s all for now. Stay tuned for more tech news and remember to always keep your sense of humor intact. Until next time!
