Judge Appointed by Former President Trump Denies Justice Department’s Request to Pause Ruling Preventing Government Entities from Flagging Social Media Misinformation

A federal judge appointed by former President Donald Trump has denied the Justice Department’s request to pause a sweeping ruling preventing many government entities from flagging social media misinformation to the platforms.

U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, who was appointed to the federal bench by former President Donald Trump, ruled Monday that Missouri and Louisiana were likely to succeed on the merits of their case against the Biden administration. The Justice Department had asked that the injunction be stayed pending appeal, or at least be administratively stayed for seven days.

The ruling prevents top Biden administration officials and several agencies from contacting social media companies such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Google. Judge Doughty stated that those being “censored” suffered far a greater injury than the government, and that the injunction only prohibits something the Defendants have no legal right to do.

The Justice Department argued that the injunction was too broad and threatened to chill lawful conduct. However, Judge Doughty rejected this claim, saying that the injunction was narrowly tailored to protect the First Amendment rights of the citizens of Missouri and Louisiana.

The ruling is the latest in a series of legal battles between the Biden administration and states over the issue of social media censorship. The case is expected to continue to be litigated in the coming weeks and months.