Supreme Court Appears Wary of Limiting Biden Admin’s Social Media Contacts in Free Speech Case

The government, not just private parties, also has a right to speak, government attorneys said, but the states say that’s censorship by proxy.

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts (L) along with (L–R) Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Ketanji Brown Jackson (back) stand in the House of Representatives ahead of President Joe Biden's third State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol on March 7, 2024. Shawn Thew/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Supreme Court justices seemed skeptical of state arguments on March 18 that the federal government was wrong to communicate with social media platforms about public health issues during the recent pandemic.

At the same time, during oral argument in Murthy v. Missouri, the states argued that the federal government strong-armed social media companies into censoring disfavored views on important public issues such as side effects related to the COVID-19 vaccine and the pandemic lockdowns. Applying this kind of pressure violates the First Amendment, the states argued.