In a major case testing the role of the First Amendment in the internet age, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday hears arguments focused on the federal government’s ability to combat what it sees as false, misleading or dangerous information online.
Last September, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the most conservative federal appeals court in the U.S., issued a broad ruling that barred key government officials from contacts with social media companies. Among the personnel targeted in the order were officials at the White House, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Office of the Surgeon General, the FBI and an important cybersecurity agency.
The appeals court said that individuals at those agencies likely violated the First Amendment by seeking to coerce social media platforms into moderating or changing their content about COVID-19, foreign interference in elections and even Hunter Biden’s laptop. The Supreme Court has put that ruling on hold while it examines the tricky issues in the case.
This isn’t even that, though: this is the “safety and freedom vs. deliberate endorsement of disinformation by a compromised judiciary” debate.
If you believe the 5th Circuit actually ruled on this case with objectivity and sound legal principles – as opposed to thinking of the politically advantageous outcome they wanted and working backwards – I’ve got a bridge to sell you.