Liberal Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has faced criticism for her recent remarks on the limitations of constitutionally protected free speech. Jackson, who was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Joe Biden, expressed her views during the hearing of the case Murthy v. Missouri. This case involves allegations of collaboration between the Biden administration and major tech companies to suppress conservative viewpoints that were critical of the Democratic Party.
The lawsuit was filed by the states of Missouri and Louisiana, accusing federal officials of colluding with social media platforms to censor information under the pretext of combating misinformation. The states argue that this censorship violates the First Amendment. While the justices deliberated on the legality of the administration’s actions, Jackson seemed to imply that such measures could be justified.
“My biggest concern is that your view has the First Amendment hamstringing the federal government in significant ways in the most important time periods,” she said.
Jackson continued:
“And so I guess some might say that the government actually has a duty to take steps to protect the citizens of this country, and 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?” Jackson added.
“Because I’m really – 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.”
WATCH:
MASK SLIP MOMENT: Biden-nominated Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is concerned that the First Amendment is “hamstringing the Government” when it comes to censoring speech on social media…
pic.twitter.com/HqkjQ1dWFh— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) March 19, 2024
