The Trump administration on Wednesday filed a lawsuit to block a law that would require that all social media accounts and any other websites or apps with any content related to human rights violations be blocked, unless they’re registered with the Justice Department.
The lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeks to prevent the U: Department of Justice from enforcing the law unless it has “reason to believe” a social media account is a front for a terrorist organization or a state actor.
The Department has not made a final determination on whether it will enforce the law.
In its suit, the administration said it believes the legislation would “threaten the First Amendment rights of Americans by restricting their ability to speak out and to disseminate news and information that will advance the government’s goals and objectives.”
It added that it believes it “is not within the government of the United States to regulate speech in the absence of a valid government interest.”
A spokesman for the Justice department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The law would have applied to websites, apps and social media that promote the promotion of hate speech, anti-Semitism or discrimination.
It would have required that any social media company or service that offers or posts content promoting hate or discrimination be blocked.
The Obama administration has been trying to get the Trump Administration to enforce the First Amendement-based law, but that has been hampered by the U.: Department of State.
The Trump Administration last week withdrew from an agreement to implement the law after the State Department’s top diplomat, Andrew Shapiro, said the administration is still working out the details.