Judge bars government agencies, social media companies from discussing certain content

July 4 (UPI) -- A federal judge ruled Tuesday to restrict some federal agencies from communicating with social media firms about certain content.

The ruling by Judge Terry A. Doughty of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana relates to a number of federal agencies and individual officials. It stipulates they are not to meet or communicate with social media companies with the intent to encourage them to remove, delete or reduce content that is protected under free speech.

Listed officials and organizations include the FBI, Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Government agencies will still have the ability to contact social media companies about posts detailing criminal activities and threats to national security. This includes attempts by foreign entities to influence an election.

The decision was handed down in response to a motion brought forth by attorneys general from Missouri and Louisiana who have accused the Biden administration of attempting to censor critics on social media.

"The Court has granted our motion to BLOCK top officials in the federal government from violating the First Amendment rights of millions of Americans," Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey tweeted. "What a way to celebrate Independence Day."

Doughty was appointed by former president Donald Trump.

Social media companies including Twitter and Meta cracked down on misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic and throughout the 2020 election aftermath. Trump and Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene, R-Ga., were cited numerous times and banned from multiple platforms for violating misinformation policies.

Twitter owner Elon Musk pulled back on a number of content policies, including a complete removal of the platform's COVID-19 misinformation rules.