UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY & TECHNOLOGY, Plaintiff, Case No. 1:20-cv-01456 (TNM) v. DONALD J. TRUMP, in his official capacity as President of the United States of America, Defendant. MEMORANDUM OPINION This case concerns President Trump’s “Executive Order on Preventing Online Censorship.” Exec. Order No. 13,925, 85 Fed. Reg. 34,079 (May 28, 2020) (“Order 13,925” or the “Order”). Plaintiff Center for Democracy & Technology (“CDT”) has sued the President, claiming that Order 13,925 violates the First Amendment. CDT asserts that Order 13,925 injures its interest in promoting free speech on the internet and claims that it has used its resources to counter the Order. It asks the Court to declare Order 13,925 invalid and to enjoin the President from enforcing it. But Order 13,925 is most notable at this point for what it does not do. It imposes no obligation on CDT (or any other private party), but it merely directs government officials to take preliminary steps towards possible lawmaking. CDT’s claimed injury is not concrete or imminent and is thus insufficient to establish Article III standing. Even if CDT managed to clear the standing hurdle, it faces redressability and ripeness problems too. The Court will therefore dismiss this case for lack of jurisdiction. I. Order 13,925 expresses the Trump Administration’s policy that “[f]ree speech is the bedrock of American democracy” and that “large online platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, as the critical means of promoting the free flow of speech and ideas today, should not restrict protected speech.” Order 13,925 §§ 1, 4(a). The Order asserts that “[o]nline platforms are engaging in selective censorship.” Id. § 1. It explains that § 230(c) of the Communications Decency Act—which, as relevant here, provides immunity from liability to online platforms for restricting some content on their sites—should be clarified. 1 Order 13,925 § 2(a). Some of Order 13,925’s provisions implicate federal agencies. For example, the Order directs the Secretary of Commerce to “file a petition for rulemaking with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requesting that the FCC expeditiously propose regulations to clarify” the scope of § 230(c). Id. § 2(b). It also instructs the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) to “consider taking action, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, to prohibit unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce,” to “consider whether complaints [about online platform censorship] allege violations of law,” and to “consider developing a report describing such complaints.” Id. § 4(b)–(d). Order 13,925 includes other directives aimed at government officials. It instructs “[t]he head of each executive department and agency” to “review its agency’s Federal spending on advertising and marketing paid to online platforms” and then requires the Department of Justice 1 Section 230 states that “[n]o provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider”; it provides immunity from liability for “any action voluntarily taken in good faith to restrict access to or ...
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