Lawsuit Joined By Civil Rights Group Over Government Censorship Of COVID-19 Information And Data

A lawsuit that challenged government-directed censorship of covid information and data, file by Louisiana and Missouri, has been joined by a noted civil rights organization.

The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) is representing Drs. Martin Kulldorff and Jayanta Bhattacharya, along with Jill Hines and Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, who are authors of an open letter published in October of 2020 called The Great Barrington Declaration – which challenged the point of covid lockdowns, arguing that such measures can be dangerous and, in some cases, deadly.

Reclaim the Net reported the group is joining the lawsuit, after it was revealed that the Department of Homeland Security and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, had traded emails between the agencies, unveiling plans by the federal government to censor opinions, viewpoints and data related to covid on social media platforms, that went against the official narrative.

The plan included threats of legal action against those social media platforms that did not comply.

Reclaim The Net adds:

The censorship came in many forms, including permanent and temporary suspension of accounts, as well as shadow banning, de-monetization of content, warning labels, taking down content, and limiting the spread of content.

According to the NCLA, government-directed censorship is a violation of the First Amendment, which protects free speech. The government is not supposed to decide which voices get heard and which don’t.

NCLA’s president Mark Chenoweth noted in a statement, “The government may not work through private entities to accomplish censorship that the First Amendment forbids the government from doing directly. Yet that is precisely what these federal defendants have been up to. NCLA is delighted to join forces with these state attorneys-general to reverse this constitutional outrage and restore free speech to the social media platforms that are today’s public square.”

NCLA’s litigation counsel Jenin Younes added, “The Biden Administration’s involvement in silencing the voices of those who have critiqued its responses to Covid-19, through pressure exerted on social media companies, is unprecedented in nature and degree.”

“Two of the plaintiffs, Drs. Bhattacharya and Kulldorff, are among the world’s most renowned epidemiologists, and had crucial insights to share on the flawed reasoning and science underlying lockdowns and mask and vaccine mandates,” Younes continued.

“Dr. Kheriaty, a professor of medical ethics, and Ms. Hines, a consumer and human rights advocate, also offered thoughtful, reasoned opposition to government-imposed Covid-19 restrictions. The government’s sweeping campaign to suppress the perspectives of the plaintiffs, and others like them, represents the most severe abrogation of the First Amendment in modern times, and we look forward to seeing this constitutional atrocity rectified in a court of law,” Younes noted further.

The Great Barrington Declaration has so far gathered over 930,500 signatures and is only growing as further information becomes available to the public, despite the efforts to quash “misinformation.”

“As infectious disease epidemiologists and public health scientists we have grave concerns about the damaging physical and mental health impacts of the prevailing COVID-19 policies, and recommend an approach we call Focused Protection,” the declaration began.

“Coming from both the left and right, and around the world, we have devoted our careers to protecting people. Current lockdown policies are producing devastating effects on short and long-term public health,” the declaration continued.

“The results (to name a few) include lower childhood vaccination rates, worsening cardiovascular disease outcomes, fewer cancer screenings and deteriorating mental health – leading to greater excess mortality in years to come, with the working class and younger members of society carrying the heaviest burden. Keeping students out of school is a grave injustice,” it added.

The declaration went on to argue that continuing to keep restrictions in place until “a vaccine is available will cause irreparable damage, with the underprivileged disproportionately harmed.”

The declaration was right in its predictions, as now there is evidence that lockdowns actually did do far more harm than good, and the world is still reeling from the on again off again restrictions that were arbitrarily handed down.

Fox News reported new studies that have come out, have shown that lockdowns “have had a devastating impact on children’s mental health, development and future earnings potential.”

“According to data released last month by the National Center for Education Statistics, 70% of U.S. public schools have reported an increase in students seeking mental health services since the start of the pandemic.” Fox News added.