A coalition of left-wing groups are urging the Supreme Court to allow the Biden administration to maintain its censorship efforts on social media.
The Supreme Court agreed to take up Murthy v. Missouri in October challenging the federal government’s communication with social media companies to suppress speech online, which a district court judge found in July likely violated the First Amendment. Three left-wing organizations urged the justices on Dec. 22 to reject the lower court’s injunction blocking the administration from communicating with social media companies for the purposes of censoring speech, writing in an amicus brief that “disinformation is a major threat to the fabric of democracy.”
“The spread of mis- and disinformation on social media platforms is commonplace,” the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and Common Cause wrote in the brief. “Examples abound of malicious actors using such platforms to spread false and intimidating messages to dissuade people from voting or to undermine election integrity— including domestic actors using scare tactics exploiting longstanding fears in Black and brown communities and foreign actors capitalizing on racial divisions to sow discord and doubt.”
The three organizations behind the brief are part of a group called the Election Protection Coalition, and they have “met with officials from DOJ, DHS, CISA, and other federal agencies, as well as state and local officials” to relay information about elections, according to the brief.
The Leadership Conference’s over 200 member organizations include the National Center for Transgender Equality, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Southern Poverty Law Center. (RELATED: Supreme Court Takes Up Landmark Government Censorship Case)
The groups argue the district court’s injunction infringes on their right to “petition the government about vitally important election security issues.”
WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 28: The U.S. Supreme Court is shown at dusk on June 28, 2023 in Washington, DC. The high court is expected to release more opinions tomorrow ahead of its summer recess, with cases involving affirmative action and student loan debt relief still to be decided. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
District of Louisiana Judge Terry A. Doughty’s injunction also prevented the government from “collaborating, coordinating, partnering, switchboarding, and/or jointly working with” research groups and projects that advocate for censorship. The Fifth Circuit later modified the injunction to remove this section, but the groups argue the language is still “so overbroad and vague that it is likely to cause uncertainty in the minds of government officials at the affected agencies, as to what actions are allowed, thus leading to reductions in their interactions with social media platforms.”
“This will endanger the right to vote as information sharing between and among civil society, government, and social media companies is essential to prevent malicious election interference and voter suppression efforts,” the groups wrote.
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