The government’s ability to fight disinformation online has suffered a legal setback that experts say will have a chilling effect on communications between federal agencies and social media companies.
A Tuesday ruling by a federal district judge in Louisiana could have far-reaching consequences for the government’s ability to work with Facebook and other social media giants to address false and misleading claims about COVID, vaccines, voting, and other issues that could undermine public health and erode confidence in election results.
District Court Judge Terry Doughty, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, issued a preliminary injunction that bars several federal departments and agencies from various interactions with social media companies.
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