The U.S. Supreme Court reversed a lower court’s injunction prohibiting the federal government from colluding with Big Tech companies to censor posts it doesn’t like, effectively green-lighting the Biden administration’s ability to carry out such operations during the 2024 election.
“To establish standing, the plaintiffs must demonstrate a substantial risk that, in the near future, they will suffer an injury that is traceable to a Government defendant and redressable by the injunction they seek. Because no plaintiff has carried that burden, none has standing to seek a preliminary injunction,” Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote for the court’s majority.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson signed onto Barrett’s opinion. Associate Justice Samuel Alito authored the minority’s dissent, which was joined by Associate Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch.
Filed by Missouri and Louisiana, the lawsuit before the high court alleged that the federal government’s collusion with Big Tech companies to suppress Americans’ online speech violates the First Amendment. Shortly after taking power in January 2021, the Biden administration began coordinating with social media giants to censor posts they deemed unfavorable, even if said posts contained factually correct information.
The administration specifically targeted posts containing claims and facts about government Covid policies, according to unearthed communication records.
U.S. District Court Judge Terry Doughty ultimately agreed with the plaintiffs’ arguments, issuing a preliminary injunction on July 4, 2023, that barred federal agencies from colluding with Big Tech to censor posts they don’t like. The
