Justice Samuel Alito is warning that a recent decision made by the Supreme Court majority might give the government the green light to censor Americans.
On Friday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a free speech case, Missouri v. Biden, that challenged the Biden Administration's communications with social media companies to censor the First Amendment.
However, until the case can be heard, the Biden Administration's request to pause the lower court's order has been granted.
Alito cautioned that the decision may be perceived as giving a "green light" to the government's use of "heavy-handed tactics" to censor free speech rights.
Joining Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, the Supreme Court members condemned the decision in a dissent, calling it unreasonable.
"At this time in the history of our country, what the Court has done, I fear, will be seen by some as giving the Government a green light to use heavy-handed tactics to skew the presentation of views on the medium that increasingly dominates the dissemination of news," Alito wrote. "That is most unfortunate."
The justices added that it "allows the defendants to persist in committing the type of First Amendment violations that the lower courts identified."
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In earlier filings with the Court, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued on behalf of the government that the lower court's injunction limited "the President's closest aides to use the bully pulpit to address matters of public concern." District of Louisiana Judge Terry A. Doughty issued the initial injunction in July. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals then narrowed the injunction to include only the White House, the surgeon general, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the FBI to say that they violated the First Amendment in September, expanding it in October also to include the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
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The Biden Administration urged the Supreme Court to entirely block the injunction, claiming it would interfere with the White House, FBI, and health officials addressing public concerns and security.
Alito slammed the administration's reason, saying the injunction "applies only when the Government crosses the line and begins to coerce or control others' exercise of their free-speech rights."
Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said he anticipates "dismantling" Biden's "vast censorship enterprise" when the Supreme Court hears the case.
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