Justice Samuel Alito railed against the White House in a dissenting Supreme Court opinion Wednesday, accusing the Biden administration of leading a “campaign to coerce Facebook” when it attempted to moderate misinformation on the COVID-19 pandemic on social media.
Joined by fellow conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, Alito dissented from his six colleagues in the majority who tossed lawsuits challenging the communications, finding the plaintiffs had no legal standing.
The majority opinion, authored by conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett, avoided addressing the merits of the free speech issue. Alito, however, said it “shirks” the court’s duty.
For months, high-ranking Government officials placed unrelenting pressure on Facebook to suppress Americans’ free speech,” Alito wrote. “Because the Court unjustifiably refuses to address this serious threat to the First Amendment, I respectfully dissent.”
As Barrett read her opinion, Alito mainly looked down at a set of papers in front of him, with his head sometimes leaning on his hand. He did not read his dissent aloud from the bench.
Read more at TheHill.com
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