Federal Judge In Louisiana Rules Against White House In Social Media Case

This week, the Federal Court for the Western District of Louisiana made a major ruling in a lawsuit brought by the Attorneys General for Louisiana and Missouri against the Biden White House.

Judge Terry A. Doughty of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana issued an injunction that says the White House, and its Federal Agencies, have to cease contact with social media companies “for the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression or reduction of content containing protected free speech.”

This injunction is centered around censorship campaigns from multiple Federal Agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The lawsuit was bought by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, and was based around the "disinformation" campaign the Federal Government launched around COVID-19. However it was not limited to the pandemic.

Even though other censorship aspects are involved, the most compelling evidence centers around the pandemic. According to the AGs, the accusations in this case center around government officials colluding with social media companies to suppress free speech thought their platforms. Previously, evidence of these types of acts were revealed through media reports. Including emails obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests that show high level officials shutting down conversations through their contacts.

Right now this is just a preliminary injunction that stops government agencies from censoring social media posts right now. The final ruling is still in the works, but based on this injunction, its likely that the final ruling will be similar. It is also likely that the government will appeal the ruling, aiming to get it in front of the Supreme Court.