Ex-Obama AG calls court decision on social media ‘stupid,’ ‘potentially dangerous’

Former Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday knocked a federal court’s decision to limit Biden administration officials’ communications with social media companies, calling it “potentially dangerous.” 

“Well this is pretty stupid. And potentially dangerous,” Holder, who served under former President Obama, said on Twitter, sharing an article about the decision.  

A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction Tuesday blocking officials from the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Justice, the State Department and the FBI from communicating with the companies, including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. 

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The Republican Missouri and Louisiana state attorneys general are suing the Biden administration, alleging it “coordinated and colluded with social-media platforms to identify disfavored speakers, viewpoints, and content” related to topics like COVID-19 vaccines and elections, in violation of the First Amendment.

Under the injunction, which isn’t the final decision in the suit, Biden administration officials cannot email, call, send letters, text or meet with social media companies “for the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech posted on social-media platforms,” though they’re still allowed to communicate about other topics, including national security threats. 

The judge overseeing the case is U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, an appointee of former President Trump.