Supreme Court Pauses Ban on Biden Officials’ Contacts With Tech Platforms Pending Review

Good that the SC is taking the Missouri v Bden case. Bad that only 3 justices believed the Biden admin should be stopped from censoring while the case goes forward. A taste of the ruling to come?

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/20/us/supreme-court-social-media-biden.html

The court agreed to hear the administration’s appeal, setting the stage for a major ruling on what the government may do to encourage sites to delete asserted misinformation

By Adam Liptak, Reporting from Washington

Oct. 20, 2023, 4:34 p.m. ET

The Supreme Court on Friday paused a sweeping ruling from a federal appeals court that had prohibited thousands of Biden administration officials from engaging in many kinds of contact with social media platforms.

The justices also agreed to hear the administration’s appeal in the case, setting the stage for a major test of the role of the First Amendment in the internet era, one that will require the court to consider when government efforts to limit the spread of misinformation amount to censorship of constitutionally protected speech.

Three justices dissented from the court’s decision to allow contacts while the case moves forward. “Government censorship of private speech is antithetical to our democratic form of government, and therefore today’s decision is highly disturbing,” Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil M. Gorsuch…