A federal judge Monday denied the Biden Justice Department’s request for a stay of a ruling that puts extraordinary limits on government communications with social media companies, rejecting the administration’s argument that the sweeping order could chill law enforcement activity to protect national security interests. …

“Although this Preliminary Injunction involves numerous agencies, it is not as broad as it appears,” Doughty, a Trump-appointed judge, wrote in his denial of the stay. “It only prohibits something the Defendants have no legal right to do — contacting social media companies for the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner, the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech posted on social-media platforms.”

[Doughty did clarify the language in the injunction regarding the kind of speech that the government could not try to suppress, but that was his only concession to the DoJ. This application for a stay was a pro forma step anyway; if Doughty had been inclined to approve one pending appeal, he would have probably issued one immediately. The DoJ had to take this step before asking the Fifth Circuit for an emergency stay, where they have already appealed the injunction. I’d guess that the appellate court might ask Doughty to issue further clarification to the scope of the people impacted by the injunction, but probably won’t be inclined to stay the order, given the fact basis in the accompanying memorandum. — Ed]