Sixth Circuit Grapples with US Role In Twitter Users’ Bans

Three users of Twitter, who said the federal government caused the social media platform to discipline them for spreading Covid-19 disinformation, received a chilly response from a Sixth Circuit panel Thursday.

Senior US Circuit Judge Danny J. Boggs asked the attorney representing the men, John J. Vecchione, to explain when the government’s pressure goes too far and veers into free speech violations, as Vecchione’s clients allege. Boggs cited multiple examples of presidents making statements about industries and wondered aloud why they were different from the government statements cited in the current case.

Boggs recalled a meeting between steel industry presidents ...