Feds’ Pressure on Tech Platforms to Censor COVID ‘Misinformation’ Is Unconstitutional, Suit Says

The government’s sustained pressure on social media platforms to censor and report purported COVID-19 misinformation amounts to “state action” that violates the First Amendment, according to a lawsuit filed Friday on behalf of three Twitter users.

The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), a frequent litigant against COVID-related administrative action, is representing theoretical cognitive scientist Mark Changizi, lawyer Michael Senger and stay-at-home father Daniel Kotzin.

Twitter suspended Kotzin temporarily and Senger permanently within a week of Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s March 3 request for information (RFI) on the “impact and prevalence of health misinformation in the digital information environment during the COVID-19 pandemic,” including how it affects “likelihood to vaccinate.”

The RFI not only encompasses search engines and social media but e-commerce platforms and instant messaging systems, “prompting technology companies to ramp up censorship for fear of adverse action against them,” including regulation, the suit says.Murthy is exceeding the statutory power of his […]

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