Biden Turns to High Court in Fight Over Social Media Influence
- Lower court said the White House violated the First Amendment
- Case centers on Biden’s approach to Covid-19 misinformation
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) headquarters in Washington, DC.
Photographer: Al Drago/BloombergThe US Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to immediately intervene to allow Biden administration officials to communicate freely with social media companies while a legal fight goes forward over allegations of government coercion.
The department argued in a filing Thursday that a lower court imposed an overly broad and harmful ban this month on White House staff, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Republican-led states claim the government violated free-speech rights by demanding Meta Platforms Inc., Twitter and Alphabet Inc.’s Google remove posts about Covid-19 and political topics that officials deemed objectionable.