Biden DOJ to appeal federal ruling on Big Tech collusion

The Justice Department will appeal a federal court ruling that blocked Biden administration officials from contacting social media companies because of collusion concerns, court documents show. 

US District Court Judge Terry Doughty, a Trump appointee, ruled Tuesday that the White House likely violated the First Amendment by flagging content for Big Tech companies to scrub during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 3(a), all Defendants hereby appeal, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the Court’s July 4, 2023 Preliminary Injunction Order,” read a notice of appeal filed Wednesday by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton and Federal Programs Branch Special Counsel Joshua Gardner. 

Doughty concluded that the plaintiffs, led by the states of Missouri and Louisiana, were likely to succeed in their lawsuit against the federal government and issued a preliminary injunction limiting dozens of Biden administration officials from attempting to coordinate with social media giants to remove content.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Wednesday that the administration “certainly disagree with this decision” and will “continue to promote responsible actions to protect public health, safety, and security when confronted by challenges like a deadly pandemic and foreign attacks on our election.”

“Our view remains that social media platforms have a critical responsibility to take action or to take account of the effects of their platforms are having to the American people but make independent choices about the information they present.  They are a private, as you know, entity, and it is their responsibility to — you know, to act accordingly.  And so, we’re going to continue to be responsible in that way,” she added, noting that the DOJ was in the process of reviewing the injunction. 

Officials subject to the injunction include Jean-Pierre, DOJ and FBI employees, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.

The case was filed by Republican Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and former Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, who is now a member of the US Senate. 

Schmitt and Landry included the suppression of The Post’s reporting on Hunter Biden and discussion of the so-called COVID-19 lab leak theory as evidence that the government infringed on the First Amendment.