The Department of Justice announced on May 13 that it has settled a lawsuit alleging the Biden administration pressured Twitter into silencing an American citizen over his COVID vaccine commentary. The case, Berenson v. Biden, No. 25-2709, resolves federal claims while preserving allegations against other defendants.
Alex Berenson, a former New York Times reporter turned independent journalist, alleged that Biden-era officials collaborated with Pfizer-linked figures to have him deplatformed from Twitter in 2021 over vaccine skepticism. The DOJ settlement provides Berenson with $150,000 and avoids further litigation in the Second Circuit, where his appeal was pending.
The Justice Department framed the resolution within President Donald Trump’s executive order titled Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship, which accused the prior administration of trampling free speech by pressuring third parties—including social media companies—to moderate, deplatform, or suppress speech the government disapproved. Three senior DOJ officials stated the federal government has no business leveraging private platforms to silence viewpoints it dislikes.
Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward described the prior administration’s conduct as viewpoint discrimination, while Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate called governmental coercion of social media companies unconstitutional. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon labeled the settlement a milestone in free-speech advocacy, asserting that more speech—not suppression—is the proper response to unwanted content.
The settlement does not constitute a court ruling on the merits or admit liability for federal defendants. It resolves the government’s role in the litigation but preserves Berenson’s claims against Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla and former Trump administration officials Scott Gottlieb, who served as FDA commissioner. Berenson stated the payment supports his ongoing appeal efforts rather than being a substantial financial gain.
Internal communications Berenson obtained from Twitter during prior legal actions formed the evidentiary backbone of his allegations against federal officials and Pfizer-linked defendants. The federal resolution leaves intact claims concerning pressure to remove his account, which remain pending adjudication.
The settlement marks the government’s public acknowledgment that federal interference in social media moderation constitutes a First Amendment violation—a principle central to the case. While the federal dispute is closed, the underlying constitutional questions it raised persist.