The US supreme court has struck down a lower court ruling in the case of Murthy v Missouri, in a decision that did not find the government’s communications with social media platforms about Covid-19 misinformation violated the first amendment. The court’s decision permits the government to call on tech companies to remove falsehoods, a key concern as misinformation spreads around this year’s presidential election. An initial lower court ruling from a Republican-favorite judge in Louisiana accused federal agencies of taking on the role of “an Orwellian ‘Ministry of Truth’”. The supreme court, in a decision written by Barrett, ruled that “the fifth circuit was wrong” in its conclusions. The court found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate that they faced substantial risk of harm from the government.

Source: The Guardian June 27, 2024 08:22 UTC