I don't view the 1st amendment as some absolute thing. Trying to limit misinformation in the middle of the pandemic doesn't seem so far fetched. BTW.... ivermectin still doesn't help with Covid. Conservatives want both freedom of speech and freedom from accountability. "Just asking questions".
This is exactly the legal argument I have been making here - should have been rather obvious, but of course, the usual suspects were arguing against it or dismissing it. If this goes to the Supreme Court, I do not expect a different outcome. Of course, the perpetrators will show no remorse.
The Rs who survived Covid disagree. Ivermectin saved their lives! And got rid of their worms, as a bonus.
I'm a big 1A guy, but this isn't a simple as it seems. Jawboning (the technical term) has been around for a while. Parts of the Biden (and Trump) admin were just awful, like "you better do this or I'll f you up" type awful. It was probably some idiot intern turned head of social media or some crap. Fire that guy immediately and tar and feather that mfer. On the other hand, the first district judge is borderline MAGA nut. 5th circuit did curtail some of the orders, but still a little too nutty. SCOTUS would definitely be less nutty in setting jawboning parameters. Best article so far from the past about this issue: https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/informal-government-coercion-and-problem-jawboning
Because of course he did. Florida Surgeon General warns against new COVID vaccine booster How can we spend grandma's money now? Kill Grandma now. That's how.
He's an idiot - he's liable for damages for anyone who dies now as their families can claim he prevented from getting the booster, which was clearly misinformation. The whole anti-vax thing - it's just insane. These people are hurting people for political gain. Just disgusting.
Learn something new. I kind of thought precedent had already been set (and still think so to some degree), and that any coercion or threat by the government violates 1A (Bantam Books case). In the other case (Blum), I interpret that as not crossing that line because the private entity has a self-interest (saving money) independent of the government. In this case, some of the actions of the WH, as per the 5th court decision, seem to cross over the line. The actions of the Surgeon General, FBI, and CDC do not, in my opinion. The social media platforms do have a powerful self-interest here (making money) that is independent of the government. Advertisers and the public at large often demand certain actions from these platforms, and they do try to adhere to them. They should be able to work with anyone, including the government, to shape their policy to what they deem is best for their interest. Government recommending policy and flagging content is fine by me. It crosses over when the government is dictating policy (they were not), threatening some type of enforcement (it seems the WH did, at least indirectly), and is extensively involved in day-to-day decisions (it seems the WH was to some extent). Constructive private-public behaviors for the interest of both sides, even if it does suppress 1A, are ultimately okay if the private entity has a strong interest in doing so independent of the government. And they did in most of these circumstances, IMO, of course. I hope it does get to the Supreme Court.
Jawboning typically involves some element of coercion. If the FBI is simply sharing accounts they have deemed as propaganda tools to spread misinformation, then I don't see how it is jawboning. Seems the courts need to look whether there was any implied or actual threat made for social media companies to take down those accounts / posts. But given that the information was damaging to public health and therefore a national security threat, it seems irresponsible for intelligence organization not to share that info.
Oh, we are doing the "you are killing grandma" propaganda again? How so, if the vaccine works, and grandma had her 5th booster?
Going over the original ruling. Will hit up 5th circuit's orders later. I think this will be up to SCOTUS next year. Quick summary so far: many actors in the Biden Admin (probably young jerks) didn't understand law and tried to bully social media companies over content. At the same time, normal actors did regular jawboning. Then a whacko MAGA conspiracy theory judge orders that no branches in the government can ever contact or be on social media, like ever (there are many named actors) in their government or even personal capacity. That is way too broad and unconstitutional on the same 1A grounds, lol. Then MAGA judge says in his order there are exceptions to his order if it deals with national safety or national security. WTF? That's not Supreme Court precedent on 1A interpretation. You are actually allowed to say things that may impact the national safety or security of the country. Essesntially, the district judge said, "government action that I like is okay to violate 1A rights, but because I'm a MAGA nut, any government action that jawbones MAGA conspiracies is a violation of 1A." Sigh. This is overall an example of bad judges and bad executive branch actors. The original action is wrong and the judgment is wrong and the 5th circuit is most likely wrong. Everybody sucks.
Nope. Thinking of getting a JD though, because I've transitioned a lot of my research time since COVID from policy analysis to appellate court decisions. But I'm kind of happy with my current career flexibility, so I may just go sit in on some law classes in between things.
Even this slimy guy slowly retreating from his indefensible positions on Covid. Of course, he will never apologize and admit that DeSantis was right, all along. The same will eventually happen with this guy's insane "transgendering the kids" policies. "We couldn't have known, the science told us to do that." No. You could have known, and you are guilty. Finally, "climate change" alarmism and authoritarianism will be exposed, but that will take even longer. Of course, the insane leftists on this forum will never admit anything. They are still parroting the crazy "killing grandma" propaganda and defending mask mandates for toddlers. Crazies.
