Social media users expressed surprise and mild amusement at Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s remarks on Monday regarding the First Amendment.
The Supreme Court listened to arguments in Murthy v. Missouri, a case that questions the Biden administration’s purported collaboration with Big Tech to censor specific messages.
The case originated from a lawsuit filed by Republican-led states Missouri and Louisiana, accusing top government officials of collaborating with social media firms under the pretext of combating misinformation. The collaboration allegedly resulted in the censorship of speech on various topics, including Hunter Biden’s laptop, the origins of COVID-19, and the effectiveness of face masks. The states argued that this censorship constituted a violation of the First Amendment, Fox News reported.
During the justices’ inquiries into whether the Biden administration had overstepped constitutional boundaries, Jackson seemed to imply that such actions could be deemed justifiable.
Fox News noted that she told the lawyer representing Louisiana, Missouri, and private plaintiffs, “My biggest concern is that your view has the First Amendment hamstringing the federal government in significant ways in the most important time periods.”
“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,” she noted further.
“So, can you help me? 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,” Jackson added.
Her remarks instantly went viral on social media, with many users insisting that “hamstringing the federal government” is “literally the point” of the First Amendment.
Fox and Friends Weekends co-host Will Cain responded on X: “Hamstringing the government is THE POINT of the First Amendment!”
“That’s literally the point of the Bill of Rights. The government’s powers derive from, and are subservient to, the rights of the People,” California state Rep. Bill Essayli noted in agreement.
“I would be more concerned if the First Amendment did not hamstring the government in significant ways,” Reason senior editor Robby Soave chimed in.
“This is not funny This lady is dangerous,” wrote podcaster Tim Poole.
