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Supreme Court

Justices consider liability for officials who block critics on social media

On Tuesday the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a pair of cases involving liability for public officials who block critics on their personal social-media accounts. The two cases, O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier and Lindke v. Freed, are the first in a series of disputes this term arising out of the relationship between government and social media.

O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier

In the first case on Tuesday, the justices are reviewing a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Biden asks justices to block limits on collaboration with social media companies

The Biden administration on Thursday afternoon asked the Supreme Court to temporarily block a lower court’s order that would limit its ability to communicate with social media companies over content moderation policies. U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar told the justices that if the “unprecedented” order is allowed to stand, it would put a Louisiana district judge in charge of overseeing the executive branch’s communications with social media companies.

Shortly after receiving the government’s request, Justice Samuel Alito — who … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Graham asks justices to block subpoena in election-interference probe

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, asked the Supreme Court on Friday to block a Georgia grand jury from questioning him about phone calls after the 2020 election to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his staff. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis wants to ask Graham about the calls, in which he allegedly discussed the state’s absentee-ballot process and allegations of voter fraud, as part of her investigation into possible election interference by former President … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justices decline to block Biden policy on social costs of greenhouse gases

The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a plea from Louisiana and nine other states to bar federal agencies from considering the social costs of greenhouse gases as part of their decision-making process. In a brief, unsigned order, the justices declined to reinstate a district-court ruling that had temporarily blocked the Biden administration from using the cost estimates. There were no dissents recorded from Thursday’s order.

The dispute in which the justices declined to intervene began last year, after President … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Tech industry asks court to block Texas law that targets social media companies

Two technology trade groups came to the Supreme Court on Friday night, asking the justices to block a controversial Texas law that bars large social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter from moderating speech based on the viewpoints of their users. Describing the law as an “undisguised effort to level the speech playing field and control ‘Big Tech,’” the groups urged the court to reinstate a decision by a federal district judge in Texas that barred the state from … Read the rest