Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson expressed concerns that the First Amendment is hamstringing government from silencing social media posts in "the most important time periods," according to the Washington Examiner.
Her comments came during oral arguments before the Supreme Court on Monday regarding the case known as Murthy v. Missouri. The high court agreed to hear the case after a U.S. District Court judge ruled last July that the White House violated free speech by "coercing" or "significantly encouraging" social media platforms to take down dissenting posts about its COVID-19 policies and guidance.
"My biggest concern is that your view has the First Amendment hamstringing the government in significant ways in the most important time periods," Jackson said to Louisiana Solicitor General Benjamin Aguiñaga.
"You seem to be suggesting that that duty cannot manifest itself in the government encouraging or even pressuring platforms to take down harmful information. So, can you help me? Because I'm really worried about that because you've got the First Amendment operating in an environment of threatening circumstances, from the government's perspective, and you're saying that the government can't interact with the source of those problems."
Aguiñaga argued that the government could intervene in certain circumstances, but it has to do so by following the First Amendment, according to the Examiner.
But Jackson maintained a "once-in-a-lifetime pandemic" or other national emergencies would provide grounds for the government to silence social media posts that are considered misinformation, the news outlet said.
"I'm interested in your view that the context doesn't change the First Amendment principles," she said. "I understood our First Amendment jurisprudence to require heightened scrutiny of government restrictions of speech, but not necessarily a total prohibition when you're talking about a compelling interest of the government to ensure, for example, that the public has accurate information in the context of a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic."