A federal judge blocked communications between the Biden administration and Big Tech social media companies.

Judge Terry Doughty made the injunction following a lawsuit from Republican attorneys general in Missouri and Louisiana.

Biden officials blocked from colluding with Big Tech in major censorship case: Judge https://t.co/3XiCbrPP0f

— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) July 5, 2023

The White House response

"DOJ is reviewing the court’s injunction and will evaluate its options in this case," a White House official said.

"This administration has promoted responsible actions to protect public health, safety, and security when confronted by challenges like a deadly pandemic and foreign attacks on our elections. Our consistent view remains that social media platforms have a critical responsibility to take account of the effects their platforms are having on the American people, but make independent choices about the information they present," the statement added.

🚨BREAKING: The Court has granted our motion to BLOCK top officials in the federal government from violating the First Amendment rights of millions of Americans.

What a way to celebrate Independence Day.

— Attorney General Andrew Bailey (@AGAndrewBailey) July 4, 2023

Republican leaders celebrate

"The Court has granted our motion to BLOCK top officials in the federal government from violating the First Amendment rights of millions of Americans," Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey tweeted. "What a way to celebrate Independence Day," he added.

"The preliminary injunction prohibits nearly all of the federal government, including DHS, DOJ, and HHS, from coercing and colluding with social media companies to censor free speech, amongst other things," he continued.

Federal judge BANS Biden administration members from meeting with social media companies over accusations they colluded with execs to create an ‘Orwellian Ministry of Truth’ during ‘Covid’https://t.co/dTcxWtOdh1

— David Icke (@davidicke) July 5, 2023

The companies involved

"The states argued that government officials went too far in their efforts to encourage social media companies to address posts they worried could contribute to COVID vaccine hesitancy or upend elections," the Daily Mail noted.

"Government officials argued the contact was necessary to combat misinformation or thwart criminal activity. The case involved President Joe Biden's White House; Google, led by Sundar Pichai; Twitter led by Elon Musk; and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, led by Mark Zuckerberg," it added.

The officials argued that the federal government should not have been involved in telling the companies to censor or remove certain posts involving political issues in the important case.

The judge did make an exception in the case of national security issues and criminal activity.

The decision is a win for American freedom as conservatives push back on government overreach by the Biden administration.