In a landmark decision by a 6-3 margin, the Supreme Court supported President Biden’s move to make social media platforms responsible for spreading false information online, as reported by CNN.
Issued on June 26, the ruling empowers federal agencies such as the FBI and Homeland Security to flag or report posts on platforms like Facebook and X containing misleading information about the upcoming election to safeguard the election process and prevent interference.
What is the case about?
The ruling stems from a 2022 lawsuit initiated by Missouri, Louisiana, and five social media users. The plaintiffs allege that the Biden administration unlawfully pressured tech giants to censor posts, violating their First Amendment right to free speech. They accused the administration of using a practice called “Jawboning,” which involves government encouragement of policy changes to businesses without formal legislation, as outlined by Law Fare Media. The plaintiffs alleged suppression of Hunter Biden’s laptop cover-up in 2020 as an example.
Ultimately, justices supporting the Biden administration concluded that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to sue and could not demonstrate a substantial risk of future injury from the government’s actions, per Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s written opinion. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh and Ketanji Brown Jackson comprised the 6-3 majority.
Justice Samuel Alito, along with Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, in dissent, opposed the Supreme Court’s decision.
In his response, Alito wrote, “For months, high-ranking Government officials placed unrelenting pressure on Facebook to suppress Americans’ free speech. Because the Court unjustifiably refuses to address this serious threat to the First Amendment, I respectfully dissent.“
He added, “It was blatantly unconstitutional, and the country may regret the Court’s failure to say so.”
Social media reacts.
The Supreme Court’s recent decision has sparked widespread discussion on social media, with critics warning that it could jeopardize Americans’ freedom of speech guaranteed under the First Amendment. They fear the ruling “won’t end well” for this fundamental right.
Conversely, some users expressed relief, pointing out the potential increase in misinformation, especially from Trump’s MAGA community, as the 2025 presidential election approaches. Meanwhile, others called for the Supreme Court to take more decisive action, advocating for the criminalization of deceptive social media posts.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, President Biden and his administration fought hard to convince social media platforms to remove posts containing misinformation on vaccines, the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 election and other topics.
They have also worked to reduce content depicting tragic acts of violence and mitigate toxic online cultures, aiming to improve mental health and wellbeing and uphold the fundamental rights of Americans and communities globally. The government argued that many posts violated the platforms’ policies.
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