An attorney arguing in favor of government censorship at the Supreme Court Monday claimed federal emergencies excused First Amendment violations.
Justice Samuel Alito asked U.S. Principal Deputy Solicitor General Brian Fletcher whether the administration believed the print media regarded themselves as “being on the same team as the federal government.” The question came as Alito pressed Fletcher on the federal government treating online platforms as “subordinates” when officials demanded overt censorship.
“Potentially in the context of an effort to get Americans vaccinated during a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic,” Fletcher said.
It doesn’t change the First Amendment principles, but it’s relevant to how they apply here. And I think it’s important to understand that at this time, this was a time when thousands of Americans were still dying every week, and there was a hope that getting everyone vaccinated could stop the pandemic, and there was a concern that Americans were getting their news about the vaccine from the platforms and the platforms were promoting, not just posting but promoting bad information.
Alito pointed out that Americans receive their news from print, broadcast, and cable media and that publishers and producers of these mediums do not face the same pressure campaigns from federal officials to manipulate their coverage as online platforms did to alter algorithms. “It struck me as, wow, this is not what I understand the relationship to be.”
Federalist Senior Legal Correspondent Margot Cleveland called the government’s response “horrible” for three reasons. “1) because an emergency doesn’t
