US seeks to block government curbs on social media contact
WASHINGTON: The US Justice Department on Monday sought to block a judge's order that barred some federal agencies and officials from communicating with social media firms about moderating content on their platforms in a decision stemming from a Republican-backed lawsuit against President Joe Biden's administration. The department asked the New Orleans-based 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals to issue a stay of the order last week by Louisiana-based US District Judge Terry Doughty. Federal agencies including the Department of Health and Human Services and the FBI cannot talk to social media companies for "the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression or reduction of content containing protected free speech," Doughty ruled. The judge's preliminary injunction marked a win for the Republican attorneys general of Louisiana and Missouri, who had accused the admi...