A federal appeals court narrowed a judge's order that blocked Biden administration officials from communicating with social media companies, in a lawsuit brought by Republican attorneys general that claimed the administration engaged in unconstitutional censorship in its efforts to combat Covid-19 disinformation.
With its new ruling Friday, the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals also left the judge's order on pause for 10 days so that the case can be appealed to the Supreme Court.
The appeals court said the preliminary injunction issued by US District Judge Terry Doughty in July was "both vague and broader than necessary to remedy the Plaintiffs' injuries, as shown at this preliminary juncture."
The appeals court reversed several aspects of Doughty's sweeping order, concluding that those pieces of it risked blocking the federal government "from engaging in legal conduct."
The opinion was handed down jointly by Circuit Judges Edith Clement, Jennifer Walker Elrod and Don Willett -- all appointees of Republican presidents.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
