THE JUKEBOX IN MANASSAS. EXACTLY 6:04 HERE IN THE EAST WE START THIS HOUR OF "FOX& FRIENDS" WITH A FEDERAL JUDGE YESTERDAY CALLING OUT THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION FOR POTENTIALLY THE BIGGEST ATTACK ON FREE SPEECH IN AMERICAN HISTORY. >> THE ACCUSATION COMES AS THE WHITE HOUSE IS TEMPORARILY BLOCKED FROM COMMUNICATING WITH SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES. >> GEORGE JOINS US LIVE WITH THE DETAILS. HEY KEVIN. >> Kevin: THIS WAS REALLY SOMETHING. U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE TERRY DOTTIE RULING THE COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN THE WHITE HOUSE AND SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES IN THE PAST LIKELY AMOUNTED TO VIOLATIONS OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT WRITING IN AN INDEPENDENCE DAY INJUNCTION, QUOTE, YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE THIS, THE EVIDENCE PRODUCED THUS FAR DEPICTION AN ALMOST DYSTOPIAN SCENARIO DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, A PERIOD PERHAPS BEST CHARACTERIZED BY WIDESPREAD DOUBT AND UNCERTAINTY. THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT SEEMS TO HAVE ASSUMED A ROLE SIMILAR TO AN ORWELLIAN MINISTRY OF TRUTH. WOW. NOW HE'S REFERRING TO THE COMMUNICATIONS BROUGHT TO LIGHT BY THE TWITTER FILES RELEASED LATE LAST YEAR WHICH YOU PROBABLY RECALL EXPOSED COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN FBI AND OTHER AGENCIES TO INFLUENCE WHAT AMERICANS COULD SEE ON SOCIAL MEDIA THROUGHOUT PANDEMIC. THE LOUISIANA AND MISSOURI ATTORNEYS GENERAL, WHO FILED THE LAWSUIT AGAINST THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION, CELEBRATING THE COURT'S RULING. AG JEFF LANDRY WRITING, TODAY WE WON AN HISTORIC INJUNCTION AGAINST THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION PREVENTING IT FROM CENSORING THE CORE POLITICAL SPEECH OF EVERYDAY AMERICANS ON SOCIAL MEDIA. AND AG ANDREW BAILEY TWEETING, HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA, YOU GET YOUR FIRST AMENDMENT BACK. MEANWHILE, THE WHITE HOUSE RESPONDS, SAID THIS. QUOTE, THE DOJ IS REVIEWING THE COURT'S INJUNCTION AND WILL EVALUATE ITS OPTIONS IN THIS CASE. OUR CONSISTENT VIEW REMAINS THAT SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS HAVE A CRITICAL RESPONSIBILITY TO TAKE ACCOUNT OF THEIR EFFECTS -- THAT THE EFFECTS OF THEIR PLATFORMS ARE HAVING ON THE AMERICAN PEOPLE BUT MAKE INDEPENDENT CHOICES ABOUT THE INFORMATION THEY PRESENT. UH-HUH. NOW, THE RULING LIKELY MEANS INTERACTIONS AND COORDINATION BETWEEN BIG TECH COMPANIES AND THE GOVERNMENT WILL LIKELY BE SIGNIFICANTLY LIMITED IN THE FUTURE, AT LEAST IN THE SHORT TERM, WITH THE POSSIBLE EXCEPTIONS FOR NATIONAL SECURITY THREATS AND/OR CRIMINAL MATTERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA. VERY INTERESTING TIMES GUYS. BACK TO YOU FOR NOW. >> Steve: NO KIDDING. ALL RIGHT, KEVIN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. SO WHAT THE ADMINISTRATION ALSO WENT ON TO SAY WAS ESSENTIALLY THAT THE GOVERNMENT CAN FLAG THINGS AND THE GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN DOING IT. THEY DID IT DURING THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION. THEY DID IT DURING THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. GOVERNMENT CAN FLAG THINGS BUT ULTIMATELY IT IS UP TO EACH COMPANY, THEY ARE INDEPENDENT AND THEY DECIDE WHAT TO FLAG. AND, YOU KNOW, KAYLEIGH AND GRIFF, AS WE TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS, THE JUDGE SAID THIS WAS AN ATTACK ON THE FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS. IN SOME CASES THE ADMINISTRATION ARGUED IN DEPOSITIONS THAT, LOOK, THERE WERE STORIES ABOUT LAB LEAK OUT THERE, WE HAD TO CRACK DOWN ON THAT BECAUSE WE DIDN'T THINK THERE WAS ANYTHING TO THAT, BUT THEY ALSO DID THINGS THAT WERE SIMPLY EMBARRASSING FOR THE BIDEN FAMILY. APPARENTLY THE JUDGE WROTE IN HIS 155-PAGE REPORT, HE SAID THE WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL STRATEGY DURING THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION, ROB FLAHERTY, ASKED TWITTER TO REMOVE A PARODY ACCOUNT MEANT TO BE FINNEGAN BIDEN, WHO IS JOE'S GRANDDAUGHTER AND THE DAUGHTER OF HUNTER BIDEN. AND WITHIN 45 MINUTES, KAYLEIGH, OF THEM ASKING THEM TO TAKE DOWN THE PARODY ACCOUNT WHICH IS PROTECTED SPEECH, IT WAS GONE. >> THIS IS STUNNING. YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE WHAT YOU READ ON THESE 159 PAGES OF THIS INJUNCTION. JANUARY 23, 2021, THE ALLEGATION IS THAT SAME INDIVIDUAL, DIGITAL STRATEGY IN THE WHITE HOUSE, ASKED TWITTER TO REMOVE A TWEET FROM, GUESS, ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR., BASED ON TWITTER DISINFORMATION IS WHAT THEY SAY. ALSO, THE JUDGE WROTE THIS, THE HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP STORY WAS CENSORED ON THESE PLATFORMS, BUT BASICALLY WHAT THEY DID WAS TWITTER BLOCKED USERS FROM SHARING LINKS TO THE NEW YORK POST STORY AND PREVENTED USERS WHO PREVIOUSLY SENT TWEETS SHARING THE HUNTER BIDEN STORY FROM SENDING NEW TWEETS UNTIL THEY DELETED THE PREVIOUS TWEET. FACT CHECK TRUE. I WAS WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY AT THE TIME, I SHARED THE ARTICLE, I WAS BLOCKED FROM TWITTER AND MY ACCOUNT WAS PUT BACK UP ONLY AFTER I DELETED THE TWEET. I ACTUALLY DIDN'T DELETE IT. I HAD MY DAUGHTER DELETE IT AND I SAID ONE DAY MOMMY WILL TELL YOU WHAT FREEDOM OF SPEECH IS AND WHY THE FIRST AMENDMENT MATTERS. WHAT A VICTORY TODAY FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH. >> Steve: GRIFF? >> WELL, AND IT'S GOOD THAT YOU'RE TEACHING THAT TO YOUR DAUGHTER, KAYLEIGH. YESTERDAY I WAS WORKING AS JUST A REPORTER IN THE DC BUREAU AND THIS NEWS HIT AND WE WERE LIKE, OH, MY GOSH, WHAT KIND OF JUDGE DROPS SOMETHING ON THE FOURTH OF JULY, IT'S A HOLIDAY. THEN IT DAWNED ON US STEVE AND KAYLEIGH, THIS DRIVES HOME THE POINT THAT THE VERY FUNDAMENTAL FIRST AMENDMENT FREEDOMS THAT OUR FOUNDERS FOUGHT FOR AND ESTABLISHED THIS COUNTRY FOR IS EXACTLY AT THE HEART OF THIS INJUNCTION, AND IF YOU JUST FLASHBACK TO MARCH, REMEMBER, JOURNALIST MATT TAIBBI AND MICHAEL SHELLENBERGER WERE TESTIFYING IN THOSE HEARINGS BACK IN MARCH, HERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY TAKE A LISTEN. >> THE ORIGINAL PROBLEM OF THE INTERNET WAS IT MIGHT DEMOCK RA TIES INFORMATION GLOBALLY. FREE INTERNET WOULD. IT'S VERY EXISTENCE TO THREAT OF FORMS OF ANTI GOVERNMENT EVERYWHERE. WHAT WE FOUND IN THE FILES WAS A SWEEPING EFFORT TO REVERSE THAT PROMISE AND USE MACHINE LEARNING AND OTHER TOOLS TO TURN THE INTERNET INTO AN INSTRUMENT OF CENSORSHIP AND SOCIAL CONTROL. UNFORTUNATELY, OUR OWN GOVERNMENT APPEARS TO BE PLAYING A LEAD ROLE. GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS HAVE BEEN CAUGHT REPEATEDLY PUSHING SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS TO CENSOR DISFAVORED USERS AND CONTENT. OFTEN THESE ACTS OF CENSORSHIP THREATEN THE LEGAL PROTECTION SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES NEED TO EXIST. THEY AREN'T ASKING FOR A NATIONAL DEBATE OVER THE LIMITS OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT RATHER CREATING BLACK LISTS OF DISFAVORED PEOPLE AND THEN PRESSURING CA JOELING AND DEMANDING SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS CENSOR DEAMPLIFY AND BAN THE PEOPLE ON THOSE LISTS. >> WE COULDN'T HAVE A BETTER DAY TO BE THE DOING A DINER SEGMENT TO BE ABLE TO TALK TO REGULAR AMERICANS ABOUT HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT THEIR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS BEING UNDER THREAT AND WE HAVE A VERY IMPORTANT GUEST WITH JEFF LANDRY LOUISIANA AG COMING UP AT 7:40 YESTERDAY HIS PEOPLE WERE TEXTING WITH ME A LITTLE BIT SAYING THEY BELIEVE THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CONSEQUENTIAL FIRST AMENDMENT RULINGS IN HISTORY GUYS. >> NO DOUBT. >> Steve: ABSOLUTELY. AND HE'S THE GUY THAT BROUGHT THE SUIT SO HE'S GOING TO BE TAKING A VICTORY LAP AND ESSENTIALLY TELL US WHAT'S COMING UP. WE NEED TO POINT OUT AND IT IS IT'S NOT ABUNDANTLY CLEAR AT THE BEGINNING, THIS WAS NOT AN ATTACK ON FREE SPEECH ACROSS THE BOARD, BECAUSE AS THE JUDGE RELAYED, HE SAID, EACH EXAMPLE OF SUPPRESSED SPEECH WAS
