A settlement in the Missouri v. Biden lawsuit has imposed new restrictions on how certain federal agencies interact with social media companies, ending the case through a consent decree that establishes long-term limits on government involvement in content moderation decisions.
The agreement bars officials at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, from pressuring social media platforms to remove, suppress, or reduce the reach of constitutionally protected speech. It also prevents federal officials from threatening legal, regulatory, or economic consequences to influence how companies moderate content.
Under the terms of the settlement, the government is subject to a 10-year, court-enforceable injunction outlining those limits. The agreement marks the resolution of all remaining claims in the case, which alleged coordination between federal officials and social media platforms over content moderation decisions.
The case was originally brought by former Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt in 2022, with claims that federal officials improperly pressured platforms to restrict certain viewpoints online.
Read the Press Release from Former Missouri AG / Current Senator Schmitt
