On Monday, Judge Doughty refused a stay on his injunction, putting it into immediate effect. Other examples include laws passed in Florida and Texas that prohibit larger social media platforms from removing posts because of the opinions they express and the ban on TikTok that Montana has passed. How do you regulate a public right like freedom of expression when that right is intermediated by private companies? Those questions lie at the heart of the case before Judge Doughty. I agree with Judge Doughty that the apparent pressure that the Biden administration placed on the platforms is questionable.

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Persons: Doughty, Leah Litman, Steve Vladeck, Judge Doughty, Donald Trump, Biden Organizations: Democratic, Monroe Division, Western, U.S ., Appeals, Fifth Circuit Locations: Covid, Florida, Texas, Montana, Louisiana, Monroe, Western District