The Supreme Court appeared ready Monday to allow Biden administration officials to communicate with social media companies, as multiple justices sounded skeptical that the government violated free speech rights when it encouraged the removal of posts with misinformation.
The justices heard oral arguments over a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit that, if allowed to go into effect, would sharply limit the government’s ability to communicate with internet giants like Meta, Google and X, the company formerly known as Twitter.
That lower court injunction, in a lawsuit brought by the states of Missouri and Louisiana along with a handful of social media users, would block government agencies from engaging in “coercion” or “significant encouragement” of social media platforms to censor views the government disfavored.
