A federal choose mentioned this week that Consultant Devin Nunes couldn't sue Twitter over posts by two parody accounts and a Republican strategist
A federal choose mentioned this week that Consultant Devin Nunes couldn’t sue Twitter over posts by two parody accounts and a Republican strategist, ruling {that a} federal communications legislation protects the social media firm from being held accountable for the posts.
Mr. Nunes, a California Republican, had sought $250 million within the swimsuit filed final yr towards Twitter, the strategist and the homeowners of the accounts over statements he mentioned had been defamatory. One account pretended to be Mr. Nunes’s mom; the opposite pretended to be a cow.
However on Wednesday, Choose John Marshall of the Henrico County Circuit Court docket in Virginia mentioned Part 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a federal legislation that claims social media firms should not accountable for content material posted on their platforms, supplies Twitter immunity within the swimsuit.
The ruling was a blow to conservatives who’ve criticized Part 230 and accused Twitter of bias towards them, one thing Twitter and different social media firms have repeatedly denied. Mr. Nunes had argued within the swimsuit that Twitter is biased towards conservatives, “whereas amplifying the voices of his Democratic detractors.”
President Trump issued an government order final month directing federal regulators to reinterpret their enforcement of that legislation after Twitter moved to flag a few of his posts that had made unsubstantiated claims about mail-in voting.
Twitter mentioned in a press release on Thursday that it “strongly believes the courtroom made the best resolution” and that it enforces its content material insurance policies “impartially for everybody who makes use of our service all over the world, no matter their background or political affiliation.”
A consultant for Mr. Nunes didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The ruling doesn’t shield the Twitter customers from being sued over their posts. One of many parody accounts, @DevinNunesMom, is now defunct, and the opposite, @DevinCow, remains to be lively. The accounts had criticized Mr. Nunes in the course of the impeachment proceedings towards Mr. Trump this yr.
The lawsuit from Mr. Nunes final yr famous on the time that @DevinCow had 1,204 followers. Within the days after the swimsuit, the account’s following rose to over half 1,000,000. It now has greater than 735,000 followers.
Mr. Nunes’s swimsuit alleged that the parody accounts had engaged in a “vicious defamation marketing campaign” towards the congressman. It additionally mentioned the strategist, Liz Mair, “engaged in a joint effort” with the 2 parody accounts to “defame” Mr. Nunes. The identities of the creators of the 2 accounts should not publicly recognized.
Ms. Mair, who has contributed opinion items to The New York Occasions, mentioned in a press release that Mr. Nunes’s lawsuit “stays an assault on the First Modification and the core American precept of free speech,” including that she was elevating cash for her authorized protection.