I Sued Facebook For Coordinating Speech Censorship With Governments. Today, They Admitted It.
On November 12, 2019, I sued Facebook for violating my First Amendment rights by censoring posts that I made regarding Eric Ciaramella, the alleged Ukraine whistleblower. As part of my allegations, I alleged a sinister cooperation between Facebook and governments to censor political speech. I was labelled crazy and due for a lesson in First Amendment law.
Today, Facebook’s spokesperson officially confirmed that Facebook is coordinating the censorship of Facebook events that seek to coordinate protests of coronavirus restrictions in certain states in direct cooperation with state governments. I am vain enough to gloat and say that this proof that I was right.
On a more serious and candid note, I am deeply concerned. Facebook ostensibly enjoys broad immunity under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act – an immunity that I argue courts have interpreted far too broadly. Until today, it has contented itself with censoring in the shadows and concealing its self-serving partnerships with governments across the world to censor speech based on its political agenda – an agenda that comes from its political aspirant-in-chief, Mark Zuckerberg. Now, self-assured in light of the same faulty “extraordinary circumstances” rationale underlying the petty tyranny that state governments are imposing on their citizens, Facebook is openly admitting that it is coordinating with state governments to censor protests.
The courts may bind us to tyranny by rubber-stamping Congress’s attempt to bypass the First Amendment, but make no mistake. Facebook’s censorship of speech is driven by exterior forces – many of which reside in government. I am seeking to hold our government accountable through the courts. We all should seek to hold our government accountable through the ballot box. Call your senators and congressmen and demand that they introduce legislation to repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
