The Supreme Court rejected the standing of the State of Missouri and five individuals in the censorship and free speech case surrounding social media. The court came down with a 6-3 decision, Justice Amy Coney-Barrett writing the majority opinion. Justices Alito, Gorsuch and Thomas dissented in the minority.
The background of the case was very familiar to this audience, as the Biden administration was previously blocked by lower courts from telling social media platforms to remove content against their interests. Today, the Supreme Court rejected the standing of the plaintiffs, essentially giving a green light to the USA government to begin controlling social media platforms again.
If you read the opinion [FULL PDF HERE], I would strongly urge readers to focus beginning on page #11 of the Justice Barrett opinion. It is obvious in the three or four pages that follow, the court was looking for an exit from the free speech issue. Denying the case on “standing” grounds became their justification for the cop-out.
Barrett goes out of her way to make the standing issue the crux of the majority opinion. Comey-Barrett dismisses all the instances of censorship and coerced removal under the auspices that the relief sought by the plaintiffs was for future harm, not past injury. The lower courts had ruled the government could not interfere with speech in the future, without establishing that each individual plaintiff was harmed specifically by each action of the government.
Social media platforms did some censorship and content removal on their own, without government direction. Therefore, it becomes impossible for the court to determine which censorship decisions were made by government coercion, and which were made by the social media platform with ordinary moderation rules being applied. {pdf page #11}
Just because some of the removal was done at the direction of government, doesn’t mean all of the activity was done at the direction of government, and therefore the plaintiff standing is undetermined as a result of the lack of uniformity. [WATCH THIS ASPECT CLOSELY, because CTH already predicted this was going to happen (¹I’ll come back to it)]….
As noted by Jeff Clark, “In effect, the Supreme Court majority is requiring government-private partnerships aimed at censorship to overlap entirely. If there are situations where private censorship predates and or postdates government calls for censorship, then the majority is saying the actions should be treated as independent and therefore to frustrate satisfaction of the causation and redressability prongs of standing analysis. And the Supreme Court majority did this even where they simultaneously acknowledged there was evidence of government collusion with Big Tech to censor COVID-related and 2020 election-related speech.”
Justice Samuel Alito Jr, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil M. Gorsuch, dissented. Alito criticized the majority for failing to address the underlying free speech questions in the case, calling efforts by the government to police content “coercion.”
The court “shirks that duty and thus permits the successful campaign of coercion in this case to stand as an attractive model for future officials who want to control what the people say, hear and think,” Alito wrote. “That is regrettable.”
¹We keep saying in the Government censorship 2.0 model we were going to see a shift. The original censorship removal was going to shift away from “content” as defined by the subject matter and will resurface as censorship against the specific individual person or outlet. This Supreme Court decision aligns with that visible DHS intention.
This case is part of the reason why DHS shifted from censorship based on what was being said (ex COVID-19), and now focuses on who is saying it. How big is their influence? What is the size of their audience? What is their platform? Where are they vulnerable or fragile?
The targeting is not necessarily the subject matter; now it’s the person or outlet with the voice that spreads the subject matter. This is what has already started to happen, and this is the approach that will continue to happen – only at a faster pace and larger scale.
It is even more critical now to show support to the entities that are at the forefront of the information network. We must support the voices that are digging, sharing, providing the raw material information and analyzing the ramifications, so that an understanding expands the awakening.
Those voices who provide truthful information… information that enlarges the understanding of the average person… are going to be the biggest targets now. DHS will shift away from spider crawls looking for “keywords” and “phrases,” and they will specifically be using AI to look for context within the content.
Accurate context with accurate content will be information most perceived as against the interest of government.
Fully grasp the spinelessness of Kavanaugh, the corrupt cowardice of Roberts, and the emotional accentuation of Barrett. But,we must not forget that the left never need worry that “their judges” will not “rule” as the left desires and requires.
Think about that – the next time you ponder the backstabber senators who claim to “fight” for us, but always simply and easily confirm the leftist judges. The rarity of the exception to this confirms the purpose. Senators are equally liable for the catastrophe that the court system has become, and they skate through the primaries without a mention of such duplicity.
Not all senators are complicit or fully complicit, but . . . worth considering when assessing your senator(s) in the next election.
My Senator, Tillis, is fully complicit.
Amen sister!
We have Sen. Schmuck Schumer. A completely wicked narcissistic a-hole pathological liar who does photo ops with raw cheeseburgers.
The cabal scared Kavanaugh for life, they castrated him. He’s more limp than the noodles I put in my soup.
No need to stack the court when you already own them.
Miss Lindsay is famous for hiding behind Democrat-won “elections have consequences,” but his election and his responsibilities therein? Not so much. Slimeball.
Oh, right, I can get rid of Marco Rubio with my vote…ROFL
Then, there’s Scott, sometimes he’s MAGA and sometimes he’s not but he is always 100% MIC.
They just de-legitimized themselves, again, with no standing. In all matters of major standing, they refuse to hear the case. So then, what good are they? The court is already packed: with cowards, traitors and dullards. We didn’t keep it. We are post-constitutional now.
Have you ever heard them use ‘no standing’ on a leftist case? No, they do not do that because they support the state over the people. Kavanaugh is a squishy RINO along with Roberts, worse chief justice in history, and the female is not that smart. Such a shame. Do not blame Trump…he did his best given the handcuffs around his wrists locked by the demented criminal from Kentucky.
It makes me wonder why they do what they do.
Are they themselves coerced into censoring their opinions?
Fuky that sheet bag from ‘tuky
…
There are so many layers of betrayal. Gonna have a beer and ice water. One for the belly. One for the head.
Yup, it was a classic cop-out for the Roberts court, well choreographed for consumption by the informed legal observers.
But don’t blame it all on the court though; the GOP was in charge of the House, the Senate, and the WH for two years (2016-2018). They could have fixed this issue long time ago. Did they do it? No. Why? Because they are too controlled by the same intelligence/federal law enforcement apparatus.
Uniparty
I think it is about time we admit that SCOTUS is not functioning as a defender of the Constitution.
They (SCOTUS) have become an enabler for the federal government to suffocate the states rights, and the rights of the people (the Bill of Rights specifically).
They have done this with many cases in the last 112 years or so.
Therefore, it is time we stop hoping that things will change.
Perhaps the Founding Fathers did not anticipate such a turn of events, if they would — may be they could have come with additional protection mechanism for the Constitution, but SCOTUS is not it.
Even the premise that Barret and the majority used in this opinion:
“>To obtain forward-looking relief, the plaintiffs must establish
a substantial risk of future injury that is traceable to the Government
defendants and likely to be redressed by an injunction against them ”
has to be highly offensive to the Constitution and the intent of the 1st amendment:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
”
Abridging (reducing someone’s right) of free speech is what was done exactly, and SCOTUS majority was pathetically looking for
” the plaintiffs must establish a substantial risk of future injury “, as a way to nullify the Bill of right.
How horribly dishonest and deeply anti-constitutional Barret had to be to write this.
In summary the SCOTUS mechanism of protecting the Bill of Rights from the government — stopped working. Therefore, the Constitutional Republic cannot survive.
Within 15 or so years US will become either anarchy or a East-Germany-style tyranny. In either scenario, today’s decision will be looked at the last obstacle that SCOTUS majority had removed from the path of Federal Gov to crush the US Constitution.
Another small learning from this decision, is that a SCOTUS member appointed by a democrat will away opine on the side of the Federal government when it is run by a Democrat. Pathetic too.
The Founding Father’s vision of the Constitutional Republic finally died today.
And it is our generation with our choices and our priorities — that finally made it happen. The burden of this final decay of the Republic — is on us.
thank you for this analysis, but I will not take responsibility for this. I have done my part with no support here where I live but I am now so disgusted with the conservatives/Republicans who are so lame to sit back and allow this to happen. BTW, owning a gun is not a valid response.
From Alito’s dissent:
“Traceability. To sue the White House officials, Hines had to identify a “causal connection” between the actions of those officials and her censorship, (citation). Hines did not need to prove that it was only because of those officials’ conduct that she was censored. Rather, as we held (citation), it was enough for her to show that one predictable effect of the officials’ action was that Facebook would modify its censorship policies in a way that affected her. Hines easily met that test.”
From Amy ‘No Notes’ Barrett’s cowardly opinion:
“platforms had independent incentives to moderate content and often exercised their own judgment.”
Sure they did. Nobody held a gun to their heads, making them an offer they could not refuse. The coercion was of a different order. The White House did subtly but directly coerce Facebook to censor, as described in judge Alito’s dissent.
Many of the social media platforms, already on the left, were at the same time playing footsie with big government largesse, which had much to do with their very existence. Incentives/pressures along those lines made them pied piper proxies for the Feds.
Assistant Special Agent in charge, Elvis Chan, of the Cyber Branch for the San Francisco Division of the FBI hosted quarterly bilateral meetings with Facebook, Twitter, Google/YouTube, Yahoo!/Verizon, Microsoft/ LinkedIn, WikiMedia Foundation and Reddit.
Chan and other agents facilitated meetings through the San Francisco Office because most of these social media platforms were headquartered there. Under the guise of National Security, workshops were conducted between these social media companies and CISA part of Homeland Security, ODNI, and the National Security Division of the DOJ.
The FBI depended on research from NGO’s, the Election Integrity Project, Graphika, and the Stanford Internet Observatory—which Mike Benz has tagged CIA cutouts who championed censorship.
And none of this Government/Private business partnership nexus (Fascism) was on the radar of Mrs. ‘No Notes’ from Notre Dame?
She is now disgracefully a part of that nexus. Fascism is officially arrived and codified via the pen of Mrs. ‘No Notes’ Barrett.
In the case of illegal voting, you had to catch the crime before it happened for it to have merit, because afterward, it was too late. (The Texas, et al, case was shocking, and scary.) As for suppressed speech, if it happens to you it might be predictive, but you have no standing until it happens, at which time that doesn’t mean it will happen all the time (hard to capsulize what the Robes just did). Couldn’t we have a simple Freedom of Speech concept, for everyone, all the time, and find it in the Constitution somewhere, or something? smh The future looks dark, and………. better not say it; no free speech any more.
I guess the whole future looking thingey is cool. They just fixed reparations.
doesnt matter who you pick. if the SC is the final answer then lawfare is the only weapon that wins.
Roberts will swing any ruling any way he wants.
Lets keep in mind that the judicial sophistry known as “standing” has no constitutional basis. It is an invented judicial doctrine that is used to avoid doing their jobs.
Rather like Mueller using ‘purview’ to avoid his, or Barr using ‘no evidence’ to avoid his.
So they can have robes and cocktails without pitchforks. This ruling is a legalese quilt of self-interest.
Kavanaugh was Boasberg’s close friend at Yale, where they shared housing with a few other men.
As much as I detested what was done to him to smear him with lies during the confirmation, that fact is very weighty.
One must consider whether both were also inducted into the same secret society. It seems quite possible.
During the attacks on him, I came to dislike him intensely for being such a spineless wimp.
Same here. He actually apologized to that Senator from Minnesota, Koblach (sp ) I think, for reacting negatively to what she said. I knew at that point he was a squishy RINO/Democrat. The woman was supported by many on this site based on one issue, abortion. So I guess you guys were perfectly willing to sacrifice the constitution for the abortion issue.
Barrett was put there to end abortion ( roe v Wade). Anything else was a gamble.
Maybe for you, but not for me.
As far as I’m concerned social media always was, is and always will be an echo chamber for the left. No one else has any rights in their world and social media is very much their hive minded world. Watching conservatives use apps owned by leftists and used to reinforce leftist ideology and then complaining about not getting fair treatment is difficult to watch. It’s like watching someone complaining about themselves as they punch themselves in the face. I never really liked this case although I do think the Gov did violate the constitution. Feels like the justices found a way out by playing the gray area in culpability. Seems those bringing this case have a hole in their swing. They have some work to do next time so it’s not so easy for the justices to get around it next time. I’d recommend these lawyers talk more with the law groups working on the recent successful 2nd amendment cases we’ve had these last couple years. They could probably learn a few things.
There is always a loophole in the law to back into the desired outcome the cabal wishes. It has always been the theater that makes the audience think it is seeing careful consideration, discussion and just legal opinion.
We have known this production has been running for far to long, at #1 First Street NW Theater. Not believable or entertaining any more.
Trump failed us, he allowed the Federalist society to run a a clandestine operation to subvert SCOTUS constitutional obligation. this is not fixable.
I do not care if they rule for Trump from now own, it does not matter. SCOTUS as an institution (and not just this term) continuously failed to defend the Constitution.
Our generation finished the Constitutional Republic at last.
Getting rid of Roe v Wade is hardly a failure. But these are people too, perhaps they threatened to kill her kids or something. You’re dealing with pure Evil. The 9 might get another crack at this because the issue before the court was the injunction however finding standing has been made very difficult.
This is not his failure, this belongs to SCOTUS because they are cucking fowards or communists. Take your pick..
Interesting that everyone here ignores Gorsuch..who, I guess except for one decision supported Native rights that many here object to, has voted consistently with Thomas. The big difference between him and the two others is that he did not live in the swamp already. I believe he lived in Colorada…
Barrett is an authoritarian feminist who’s never met any government oppression of citizens’ rights that she opposes. At oral argument, she was shocked at the notion of government not being able to censor speech it doesn’t like. Fine with me if those pro abortion people want to relentlessly harass her at home. An absolutely terrible court appointment, way worse than O’Connor.
What was it about adopting two Black children from Haiti that you didn’t understand?
Didn’t she choose adoption because she was so involved in mothering- you know, home-schooling, mending clothes and baking cookies and could avoid maternity leave this way, all without copulating with a black man?
I agree, and who were the people pushing her for this job? RINO’s of course, that’s who.
I want to scream when people say, well you have to give Mitch McConnell credit for getting these Justices appointed. Like Hell I do.
There were many people here who cheered her on because of the abortion issue..that’s the only thing that mattered to them.
Yes many here cheered her on. “We have to confirm Amy” was what we heard in the fall of 20. I heard her describe how she cried with her adopted Haitian daughter, over George Floyd’s death. I knew she would be a problem .
Therein lies the problem, China’s bitch The Turtle.
Federalist Society and Judicial Crisis Network never again should be listened to on court appointments. You described them perfectly.
What a country!
They never missed a beat…..
FBI resumes outreach to social media companies over foreign propaganda
The agency put the briefings on pause amid lawsuits and government scrutiny.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/fbi-social-media-facebook-twitter-x-meetings-briefings-jordan-rcna144289
That was 3 months ago, not because of this decision today. And the case is far from over, since the ruling only applied to the injunction, not the merits, which will be further strengthened at the district court level by the Missouri AG through additional discovery.
The case is over as far as the impact on the 2024 election is concerned. The Biden Junta now has free reign to censor any and all pre-election content it finds inconvenient.
Like to agree with you, but this is the tip of the iceberg of monumental rulings coming soon. From the immunity case to the case of how J6ers have been indicted, charged and imprisoned illegally. And it sounds like Cannon in Florida will not declare that Smith was an illegal appointment. So I believe what is to come is too cause despair. I have hoped, that if the publics focus and attention would be on the bioweapon of COVID, with the injury and deaths occurring in under 40 that are now linked to the shot, all the personal family loss, along with many losing their businesses, jobs and relationships, pushed on us by those in positions of power, all based on lies, that the outrage would move to mass demonstrations. This is the only thing they fear, and the only means to have any of the criminals arrested and tried…of the people, by the people, and for the people with a jury of their peers….WE THE PEOPLE.
Perhaps the Supreme Court is not as dim as it appears.
Perhaps it’s decision is intended to more clearly focus the attention of the people on the evidence of their own life experience, that the present government, i.e. the Globalist Fascists, are the ones removing freedom from them in many areas and particularly in the area of free speech. W
hy would any sane person return that pack of idiots to power?
That seems well and good
Even Zelensky’s goons could call the FBI and have info removed
The Federal Bureau of Investigation pressures Facebook to take down alleged Russian “disinformation” at the behest of Ukrainian intelligence, according to a senior Ukrainian official who corresponds regularly with the FBI. The same official said that Ukrainian authorities define “disinformation” broadly, flagging many social media accounts and posts that he suggested may simply contradict the Ukrainian government’s narrative.
https://www.leefang.com/p/how-the-fbi-helps-ukrainian-intelligence?
Y’all ain’t gettin’ our Treehouse!!
😡🖕 damn spooks
The derp state must be destroyed..
I got censored at TGP for using that term, in same context.
yes and yes.
The Supreme Court CAN make a mistake in a majority decision –
could it not be revisited and the new majority decision would be on the side of the citizen to be protected from the government – MORE liberty for the citizen, LESS control for the government.
RFK has a pending similar case and says he can prove “standing.”. i am interested in the outcome.
I received some information from Truth Social on their media plans, and now that it is a publicly traded company, my plan is to invest in that platform. I already pay “dues” to support the people and publications I value (such as this one), but I really like the idea of investing by way of stock purchases.
In other words a gag order for the whole country.
Effective reinforcement to keep the prols in line. We saw it in the public protest realm, also part of the 1A, with J6. Freedom to assemble. I saw it in the difference in attendance and and tone on Lobby Day from 2019 to 2020. We saw it at work with the convoys. It works.
I’m reminding myself lately how it was for us in the 60’s. It was more violent back then and we had sons and brothers coming home in boxes from Vietnam. Even as a young male I faced it personally. Tough time.
We will prevail. God has given us breath and a leader. Our faith is our shield.
“Accurate context with accurate content will be information most perceived as against the interest of government.”
The biden regime “ministry of truth” has been given the green light to deceive people.
In a time of universal deceit – telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
George Orwell
its just as important to NOT support those that would eliminate conservative free speech
The Farmer and the Mule
The Farmer and the Mule
First, loss of ad revenue by limiting what is shared is harm. If the government suggests anything to influence censorship they have violated the constitution. Second, I don’t know anywhere in the constitution that states you have to measurable harm relating to free speech. It does say the government can play no role in limiting free speech, PERIOD.
The government can say what ever they want, so should everyone else. No government person/entity should be in contact with any internet platform for the purpose of wanting to suggest or influence peoples first amendment right. It is that simple. It is common sense. These professional idiots just can’t stand that people have different opinions.
They are getting way too big for their britches, going around trying to control everything, who do they think they are, communists?
Stomping a jack boot on the face of freedom of speech.
“The targeting is not necessarily the subject matter; now it’s the person or outlet with the voice that spreads the subject matter.”
The ongoing court battles Alex Jones is facing is a prime example. Love him or hate him he was targeted by lawfare designed to silence free speech. In his case they targeted the platform he owned.
Once again, the Roberts Court punts
Absolutely no Standing Big Brother rules if you dont like is TUFF. Satan is the Prince of the Power of the Air.
Lord only knows how compromised Roberts is. We may never know the full extent of his betrayal and personal demons. The two Trump appointees were manufactured SCOTUS nominees that were acceptable to the RINOs in the Senate. They were groomed for the court and are doing what they are supposed to do (protect Roberts). Barrett’s only real purpose was to overturn Roe. If Trump had nominated a Clarence Thomas-type for the court, the RINO senate would have never confirmed him or her.
You still think you are voting your way out of this? In Jan 2025 when the democrats take full control of government, Thomas and Alito will be taken-out. The deep-state can “Trump” anyone they want. The narratives are already out there for both removals. The two Trump appointees know full well how miserable their lives will be if they don’t protect Roberts and his court. Our nation is no longer fixable. It’s just a matter of how fast it implodes.
I have heard some sick stuff about The Robe which won’t be repeated, don’t know if it’s true, and it was too sickening to delve into.
One thing that is true, Roberts has had seizures, maybe epilepsy. That may put him at a disadvantage, dunno.
We are so screwed.
[Alito] The court “shirks that duty”
Nothing new. “No standing” is the new “we don’t want to deal with it.” See also, December 2020 refusal to hear Texas v. Pennsylvania, a case which is right in the wheelhouse of Article III, Section 2. Druids in black robes.
I kind of thought the constitution gave standing to American citizens to protect us from the government. Unbelievable.
It has been stated that Government will take away our 1st Amendment Rights, before they successfully take away our 2nd Amendment Rights.
As per this ruling government is chipping away at our constitutional rights faster and faster every day.
S
The dirty, rotten, scummy, onan’s in the Congress could fix all these issues with new legislation.
The dirty, rotten, scummy, animal fornicators in the States could fix all these issues with new legislation, nullification, and Federalism.
The GOP politicians and the republican voters are going to enslave us all.
We shouldn’t have to go begging to the USSC all the time.
The Federal Government is just way too big and too intrusive and we don’t seem to have a way to stop intrusive government right now.
But, boy, abolition of the Departments of Education, Commerce and Homeland Security sure seem like good ideas. Also, relocation of government depts. to where the activity is going on. Omaha, Nebraska for a stripped down Agriculture Department and so on.
we have been under a “state of emergency” since 1933 and FDR. an incumbent president has to agree to return that power to congress. If that would happen, say if President Trump would do it, all those agencies would fall—by operation of law.
The exact same 6-3 split of justices previously rejected the 2020 election fraud challenges by Texas and other Red states using the same excuse that they “lacked standing.”
If States always lack standing then the Court is saying States are voiceless and powerless and have no recourse to the law.
Those who make peaceful change impossible will make violent change inevitable.
ACB has proven over and over to be a lost pick–she has been pathetic. Almost roberts like but not AS bad even tho she’s really really close
Kavanaugh is the same..this is so ridiculous
Just in time for the most fraudulent election in US history.
Apparently Scotus does not understand that the communist takeover they are aiding and abetting will render them obsolete.
Accountability on the Bench: Unveiling Corruption or just Incompetence in Judicial Appointments, Part 2
https://estancia.news/accountability-on-the-bench-unveiling-corruption-or-just-incompetence-in-judicial-appointments-2/
Supreme Court ‘Inadvertently’ Posts Opinion on Idaho Abortion Law – Then Removes It
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/06/another-leak-supreme-court-inadvertently-publishes-opinion-idaho/
People these F%#$k
The problem is Roberts. He has done more to undermine the legitimacy of the court than anything the media has done.
Look at the bright side, if TX no-standing didn’t teach normies of corruption, this might teach a lesson
This decision is no different than a number of other recent ones hurled out of the bowels of the compromised SCOTUS – using their favorite tool of “no standing.” It’s the same method they repeatedly abused for election related cases. To expect otherwise borders on insanity as defined by repeatedly doing the same thing and expecting different results.
The only way it will be addressed with the current compromised band of fools is with an airtight structure which leaves them no outs and forces them to examine merits. In light of some of the election related rulings, I’m doubtful even then they would.
That said, much of the public have gotten comfortable, even lazy. Yes – social media can allow one to reach a much larger audience more easily than one otherwise could – but it hardly shuts down the ability to get information and ideas out. Once upon a time information was spread by word of mouth (but then too large of a percentage of the country doesn’t actual talk to one another – they text, tweet, message, etc. – and they often don’t gather in large groups for social events anymore). Once upon a time information was spread by pamphlets and posters (but that requires reading, writing, exercise, and small expenditures).
The point is simply this – don’t ever allow yourselves to be silenced, don’t ever give up, don’t ever give in. When the need arises, be creative – there are always ways to circumvent government fools. And pray without ceasing.
There is nothing more infuriating than a no standing ruling.
Why in the world did Trump get suckered into nominating Amy (a lot like Comey) Barret. And why did we support this?
Trump keeps touting the amazing supreme Court justices he nominated and im definitely feeling like we flubbed a big opportunity.