APPEALS COURT PAUSES ORDER LIMITING BIDEN ADMINISTRATION CONTACT WITH SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES

A federal appeals court temporarily paused a lower court’s order limiting executive branch officials’ communications with social media companies about controversial online posts.

Biden administration lawyers had asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to stay the preliminary injunction issued on July 4 by U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty. Doughty himself had rejected a request to put his order on hold pending appeal.

The brief 5th Circuit order put Doughty’s injunction on hold “until further orders of the court.” It called for arguments in the case to be scheduled on an expedited basis.

Filed last year, the lawsuit claimed the administration, in effect, censored free speech by discussing possible regulatory action the government could take while pressuring companies to remove what it deemed misinformation. COVID-19 vaccines, legal issues involving President Joe Biden’s son Hunter and election fraud allegations were among the topics spotlighted in the lawsuit.