State Department cancels Facebook meetings after court order: report 

After a court ruling Tuesday that limited Biden administration officials’ communications with social media companies, the State Department canceled its regular meeting Wednesday with Facebook officials, according to The Washington Post.  

Those meetings, which had been held monthly, and all future ones were “canceled pending further guidance” on the ruling by a federal judge in Louisiana, the Post reported. Election preparations for 2024 and hacking threats were to be discussed at the meeting, according to the report.  

The State Department did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment. Facebook and several other social media companies also did not immediately reply to requests for comment.  

U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, a Trump appointee, ruled Tuesday that Biden administration officials cannot contact social media companies relating to “in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech posted on social media platforms.” The decision is a blow to the administration’s efforts to curb disinformation online.  

That order came after two Republican attorneys general alleged that federal officials “coordinated and colluded” with social media platforms to target “disfavored speakers, viewpoints, and content.”

The result, they said, was a “campaign of censorship” executed by the administration.   

Federal officials in the State Department, FBI, Justice Department, Department of Health and Human Services, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were directed to cease relevant communications with social media companies. 

The Justice Department filed a notice of appeal Wednesday evening. A DOJ official said the agency expects to request a stay of the district court’s decision “expeditiously.”