Following a court ruling limiting the Biden administration’s communications with social media firms, the State Department called off its regularly scheduled meeting with Facebook.
This comes in the wake of U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty’s ruling that federal officials cannot interact with social media platforms regarding content moderation involving protected free speech.
This decision followed allegations by two Republican attorneys general that federal officials colluded with these platforms, leading to a “campaign of censorship.” The judge’s ruling affects multiple federal departments including the State Department, FBI, Justice Department, Health and Human Services, and the CDC, who are now directed to halt relevant communications with social media companies. The Justice Department, however, has filed a notice of appeal, expecting to request a stay of the decision “expeditiously.”
