Judge Rules Lawsuit Against Twitter Can Proceed

A federal judge ruled that a journalist’s lawsuit against Twitter can proceed.

Alex Berenson is an independent journalist who sued Twitter for tweets he posted about the COVID-19 virus.

Interestingly, Politico reported that the judge ruled that Twitter maintained certain protections under Section 230 of the U.S. Communications Decency Act, but seemingly challenged the platform’s ability to suspend users without notice.

“Collectively, these actions plausibly qualify as a clear and unambiguous promise that Twitter would correctly apply its COVID-19 misinformation policy and try to give advance notice if it suspended plaintiff’s account,”  U.S. District Judge William Alsup wrote in his opinion that denied Twitter’s motion to dismiss the suit.

Judge Alsup added that “[a]ny ambiguities in a contract like Twitter’s terms of service are interpreted against the drafter, Twitter.”

The judge also ruled that Twitter’s actions did not violate Berenson’s First Amendment right to free speech. 

“For an internet platform like Twitter, Section 230 precludes liability for removing content and preventing content from being posted that the platform finds would cause its users harm, such as misinformation regarding COVID-19,” he said wrote.

The judge’s preliminary ruling on the suit meant that the suit against Twitter would proceed.

Conservatives are being attacked. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on “hate speech” and equal footing for conservatives. We can help you censor yourself if necessary. Contact the CensorTrack Contact formHelp us to hold Big Tech responsible.