WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Friday, America First Legal filed an important lawsuit against the Biden Administration’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to uncover information about its collaboration with big tech companies in determining what is “misinformation” and “disinformation.”
In July, America First Legal submitted a FOIA request to uncover the degree to which the CDC and the White House are working with social media companies to censor COVID-19 content that it has deemed “disinformation” or “misinformation.” In addition to violating the First Amendment, this coordination likely led to the denial of important and potentially helpful information to Americans about therapeutics and other treatment options.
The White House publicly admitted to engaging in this very conduct. “So we’re regularly making sure social media platforms are aware of the latest narratives, dangerous to public health that we and many other Americans are seeing across all of social and traditional media. And we work to engage with them to better understand the enforcement of social media platform policies,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters in July.
For months, the CDC has stonewalled all attempts by AFL to uncover the degree to which the White House and the CDC are engaging with social media companies, including Facebook and Instagram, to censor COVID-19 information with which it disagrees.
The First Amendment prevents the federal government from engaging in content moderation or otherwise infringing upon the free speech rights of Americans. Labeling speech as “disinformation” and deputizing private corporations as federal censors to take down the information with which the government does not agree does not exempt the federal government from its constitutional and legal obligations. The American people also have a right to know which government officials are involved, what is being said, and why.
America First Legal looks forward to bringing the truth to the American people and continuing its unending fight to protect Americans and their rights.
Statement From America First Legal Vice-President and General Counsel, Gene Hamilton:
“The Biden Administration has admitted–at some of the highest levels of government–to collaborating with private companies to moderate content on platforms and restrict access to information. While it has done this at all levels, its use of the CDC to prevent Americans from having full information about medical options is particularly egregious. America First Legal will not stop until the American people have the truth,” Gene Hamilton said.
Read the complaint here.
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