HAPPENING TODAY: U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Missouri social media case

WASHINGTON, D.C. (KY3) - The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the social media censorship case Murthy v. Missouri.

The case comes from a lawsuit filed by former Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmidt and the attorney general of Louisiana.

The lawsuit claimed that the Biden Administration violated the First Amendment by encouraging social media companies to censor content on platforms like X and Facebook. Some of the content the lawsuit claims was censored included questions over the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, the effectiveness of masks and vaccines, voting by mail security, and the 2020 presidential election.

The attorneys in the case challenged whether the content moderation actually violated the First Amendment and whether the preliminary injunction by the lower courts was proper.

Justice Alito was presented the case and recommended that the Supreme Court hear it.

Dr. Kevin Pybas with Missouri State University says the case hinges on whether private social media companies performed censorship on their own or were pressured by the government.

“The government can’t get around the restrictions of the Bill of Rights by leaning on private actors to do the work of government itself. Fundamentally, that is what the issue is here. (Was the) content moderation that took place purely by the private actors, or was it done by pressure from the Biden Administration?”

In a statement, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said, “Today, the United States Supreme Court heard the most important First Amendment case in this nation’s history. I’m proud that Missouri is leading it,”

“My office brought this lawsuit to halt the disgusting silencing of millions of Americans by the Biden Administration. We feel confident after today’s arguments, and look forward to reminding the nation that the First Amendment still means something in this country.”

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