Judges put hold on ruling banning contact between federal agencies and tech companies: report

14 July 2023

A New Orleans panel of judges sided with President Biden administration officials Friday by temporarily blocking a recent ruling prohibiting federal agencies from communicating with social media companies, Politico reports.

Louisiana District Court Judge Terry A. Doughty, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, issued the preliminary injunction earlier this month with "the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech."

According to the report, "Judge Carl Stewart, an appointee of President Bill Clinton; Judge James Graves, an appointee of President Barack Obama; and Judge Andrew Oldham, an appointee of President Donald Trump" chose not to "explain the rationale for granting what the court called a 'temporary administrative stay' of Doughty's injunction."

Additionally, Politico notes:

The stay — while temporary — underscores that Doughty's ruling is unlikely to be the last word on an issue that has animated the political right. Conservatives in the House grilled FBI Director Chris Wray about the ruling during a hearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

Earlier this week, The Guardian reported Doughty's ruling is "the latest in a wider rightwing campaign to weaken attempts at stopping false information and conspiracy theories from proliferating online, one that has included framing disinformation researchers and their efforts as part of a wide-reaching censorship regime."

Politico's full report is available at this link.

From Your Site Articles