Judge Won’t Lift Ban On Social Media Outreach By Feds

Bloomberg News reports:

A federal judge in Louisiana denied a request by the US government to delay an order he imposed last week banning federal agencies and officials from communicating with social media companies.

The Justice Department is expected to ask the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals to intervene after US District Court Judge Terry Doughty on Monday refused to pause his July 4 nationwide injunction. He also denied the government’s alternative request for a seven-day pause while it petitions the appeals court to step in.

Doughty defended his order against the Justice Department’s argument that it is overly broad and unclear in defining what kind of communication with tech companies is no longer allowed.

Read the full article. As I noted last week, Doughty, a Trump appointee, first appeared on JMG in June 2021 when he blocked the COVID vaccine mandate for federal workers in a ruling that was riddled with false anti-vaccine claims and which cited a notorious anti-vaccine activist. In September 2022 he issued a permanent injunction against vaccine mandates for teachers.

BREAKING: A federal judge in Louisiana denied a request by the US government to delay an order he imposed last week banning federal agencies and officials from communicating with social media companies https://t.co/O2pyTZvuLt

— Bloomberg Technology (@technology) July 10, 2023