Judge rules RFK Jr. can sue Biden administration over alleged censorship of charity that questions vaccines

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. can sue the Biden administration over alleged censorship of social media by his charity Children's Health Defense, which questions the safety of vaccines.

“The Court finds that Kennedy has a strong likelihood of succeeding in his claim that the removal of the posted content was caused by the actions of the government defendants, and there is a substantial risk that he will suffer similar harm in the near future,” U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty in Louisiana said in a ruling.

The lawsuit alleges that the government pressured social media giants like Facebook, X and YouTube to censor content it deemed to be misinformation.

The Children's Health Defense organization, founded by Kennedy, says its mission is to “end childhood health epidemics by eliminating exposure to toxic substances.”

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Critics of the association have called it “anti-vaccine.” The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccine, are “safe and effective.”

“Judge Terry Doughty carefully and clearly analyzed the law and the facts and applied the framework of the United States Supreme Court’s recent decision in Murthy v. Missouri regarding standing,” CHD General Counsel Kim Rosenberg said after the decision, referring to a similar case brought against the government.

“The court also ruled strongly in favor of the plaintiffs that they had not waived – and had even affirmatively raised – direct censorship claims in addition to the listeners' claims.”

Murthy v. Missouri was recently brought by Republican attorneys general from Missouri and Louisiana, who accused the Biden administration of pressuring social media companies to censor certain content.

A Louisiana court banned communication between the government and the companies, but the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision in June, said the plaintiffs did not have enough evidence to prove direct harm and found no direct connection to the government in the censorship, adding that the companies have the right to moderate their own content.

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Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote in the decision that “the evidence indicates that the platforms had independent incentives to moderate content and often exercised their own judgment.”

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson also voted against the plaintiffs.

In the Kennedy case, Doughty said there was direct evidence that the charity's censorship was linked to the government.

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The case will now be sent back to a lower court and the injunction will be reconsidered, according to the Washington Examiner.

The move came days before Kennedy suspended his struggling presidential campaign and endorsed former President Trump.