Ben Nimmo, chief of global threat intelligence for Meta, said government officials stopped communicating foreign election interference threats to the company in July.
That month, a federal judge limited the Biden administration’s communications with tech platforms in response to a lawsuit alleging such coordination ran afoul of the First Amendment by encouraging companies to remove falsehoods about covid-19 and the 2020 election. The decision included a specific exemption to allow the government to continue to communicate with the companies about national security threats, specifically foreign interference in elections. The case, Missouri v. Biden, is now before the U.S. Supreme Court, which has paused lower court restrictions while it reviews the matter.
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The federal judge’s July 4 ruling prohibited key agencies — including the State Department, the FBI and DHS — from urging companies to remove “protected free speech” from the platforms. However, Trump-appointed Judge Terry A. Doughty appeared to acknowledge concerns the decision could dismantle election integrity initiatives, specifying the restrictions did not apply to warning companies of national security threats or foreign attempts to influence elections. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling removed some of the restrictions, including communication with the State Department.
I can appreciate the administration is “treading cautiously,” but the rulings specify that the restrictions don’t apply to foreign attempts to influence elections.
Zima