No Standing. What An... UN-surprising Outcome.

We said it forever, here. And it is ultimately quite silly here, that US taxpayer dollars -- into the millions -- were spent to declare what we all well-know: a private social club (so long as it doesn't exclude on the basis of race, gender, disability or LGBTQ+ status) is free to show anyone the great egress.

Obviously including serial liars about public health emergencies, and election outcome deniers -- indeed. These parties, and the GOP governed states that sought to stand in their shoes... have no live claim or controversy to assert. And a 6-3 majority just said so:

. . .The plaintiffs, two States and five social-media users, sued dozens of Executive Branch officials and agencies, alleging that they pressured the platforms to suppress protected speech in violation of the First Amendment. The Fifth Circuit agreed, concluding that the officials’ communications rendered them responsible for the private platforms’ moderation decisions. It then affirmed a sweeping preliminary injunction.

The Fifth Circuit was wrong to do so. To establish standing, the plaintiffs must demonstrate a substantial risk that, in the near future, they will suffer an injury that is traceable to a Government defendant and redressable by the injunction they seek. Because no plaintiff has carried that burden, none has standing to seek a preliminary injunction. . . .

And. . . color me shocked -- utterly. . . shocked, that Alito bleats out an entirely loony dissent (one that only attracted the votes of Thomas and Gorsuch). And yep, that means the Chief (Roberts), Kavanaugh and Barrett signed on to the sensible opinion.

Hilarious.

नमस्ते