The lawsuit accused the Biden administration of pressuring social media platforms to remove posts flagged as disinformation|Lyncconf Games|CC BY 2.0
The Supreme Court backed the White House on Wednesday, rejecting a lawsuit from Republican-led states that accused the Biden administration of pressuring social media platforms to remove posts flagged as disinformation.
The 6-3 decision overturns a lower court’s ruling in the case, Murthy v. Missouri. According to the ruling, the White House can ask companies to remove content it considers as misinformation.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett, writing for the majority, emphasized that the plaintiffs, including doctors and activists, lacked legal standing to sue the government over these allegations.
However, the court refrained from directly addressing broader First Amendment questions and highlighted the delicate balance between government oversight and digital free expression.
Wait, there is more
Another major lawsuit decision is awaited in the coming days before the Supreme Court breaks for summer.
The cases, Moody v. NetChoice and NetChoice v. Paxton will determine whether social media laws in Florida and Texas violate free-speech rights by taking down certain content and accounts from platforms like Meta and TikTok.