Western Reader
A federal judge mentioned former White House press secretary and MSNBC host Jen Psaki in an injunction. This injunction is currently preventing the Biden administration from meeting with tech companies about digital censorship.
United States Judge Terry A. Doughty of the Western District of Louisiana approved the injunction after lawsuits from Republican Attorneys General Erik Schmitt of Missouri and Jeff Landry of Louisiana concerning free speech.
The allegations say the White House pushed tech companies to silence free speech during the coronavirus epidemic and during the 2020 presidential election.
Psaki Pushed for Tech Companies to Censor Their Online Platforms
The injunction made Jen Psaki circle back to her days as Press Secretary. pic.twitter.com/S061ijRvXX
— Mad Stone Thrower (@PedraDeLouco22) July 5, 2023
In the injunction, Doughty noted at a White House press conference, Psaki issued a public reminder to Facebook and other social media platforms about the potential “legal consequences” they could face.
Psaki said these legal issues could emerge if they failed to intensify their efforts in censoring misinformation.
On July 15, 2021, Psaki joined Surgeon General Vivek Murthy in launching an advisory on coronavirus misinformation. She was telling the press that the Biden Administration had regular contact with tech giants to flag such content online.
The injunction quoted Psaki as saying companies such as Twitter, Facebook, and Google must suppress misinformation, disinformation, or content deemed unsuitable. This, according to her, tends to derive from conservative sources.
If Allegations Prove to be True, the Biden Administration Attacked the First Amendment Without a Care
Jen Psaki (@jrpsaki), Jul 16, 2021: “It should not come as any surprise that we are in regular touch with social media platforms … We are regularly making sure social media platforms are aware of the latest narratives dangerous to public health
pic.twitter.com/eYWTztCagQ— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) July 5, 2023
Doughty said if the allegations are true, it would be one of the most significant assaults on free speech in American history. That’s if the federal government ignored First Amendment protections.
Doughty recently rejected the Biden administration’s request to dismiss the case filed by Louisiana and Missouri attorneys general.
In his ruling, Doughty stated the plaintiffs put forth credible claims of First Amendment violations by the federal government to crush speech that they deemed to be untrustworthy.
This article appeared in The Record Daily and has been published here with permission.
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