On July 4, federal Judge Terry Doughty, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, ruled that the Biden administration had violated the First Amendment by asking social media sites to delete posts containing false information, including misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines and the 2020 election.
Judge Doughty then enjoined further contact by the Biden administration with online platforms on matters pertaining to speech.
The order has been stayed by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals pending further litigation of the case.
The case had been brought by Republican attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri, who judge-shopped their forum in Louisiana specifically to have Judge Doughty hear the matter.
Such blatant manipulation invites the public to see the case in partisan terms—Democrats denouncing it and Republicans welcoming it.
But, unless we are to surrender the rule of law altogether, we should not react reflexively. We have to actually look at the facts of the case.
Even if the resulting injunction was overbroad, and even if it is doubtful that the plaintiffs had standing to bring the case, the fundamental question for us should be, did the Biden administration violate the First Amendment?
Under the well-established law of free speech, certain principles are clear.
First, social media sites are privately owned. That means they are not themselves subject to the restrictions of the Constitution.
No matter how big they are, Facebook, Twitter and all the...
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