The UK’s Online Safety Act, designed to regulate the internet, has been amended to remove a controversial but crucial measure.
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A U.S. federal judge on Tuesday restricted some agencies and officials in President Joe Biden’s administration from meeting and communicating with social media companies to moderate their content, according to a court filing.
The ban comes in response to a lawsuit filed by Republican attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri alleging that U.S. government officials were encouraging social media companies to post information they fear could lead to vaccine hesitancy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The posts have gone too far. Or subvert elections.
Government agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services and the FBI may not engage in conversations with social media companies “for the purpose of in any way urging, encouraging, pressuring or inducing the removal, removal, suppression or reduction of content,” the ruling said. Contains protected free speech” under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
A White House official said the Justice Department was reviewing the order and would evaluate its options.
The order also named officials including Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency chief Jen Easterly among the restrictions.
In an order filed with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, Judge Terry Doughty made some exceptions for communications between government officials and companies, including warnings of national security risks and criminal activity.
The ban was first reported by The Washington Post.
Tuesday’s order marked a victory for Republicans suing the Biden administration, which they say is using the coronavirus health crisis and the threat of misinformation as a pretext to stifle views that differ from the administration.
U.S. officials say their goal is to dispel misinformation about a COVID-19 vaccine to curb preventable deaths.
Facebook and Instagram Parents meta platformTwitter and Alphabet YouTube did not immediately respond to a request for comment.