Appeals court dismisses anti-conservative bias lawsuit against top tech companies
What you need to know
- A lawsuit against Apple, Google, Twitter, and Facebook has been dismissed.
- It claimed that top tech companies were suppressing conservative views.
- A judge said that the claims were not actionable under the First Amendment.
A lawsuit against top tech companies claiming that anti-conservative bias has been dismissed in the U.S. appeals court.
As TechCrunch reports:
The lawsuit accused the four companies of collaborating to "intentionally and willfully suppress politically conservative content." The suit alleges that Freedom Watch enjoyed steady audience and revenue growth until the "suppression" started:
Specifically, the suit cited Loomer's ban from Twitter over comments she made about Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. The suit purported that "the Platforms" had entered into some kind of illegal agreements to suppress conservative news and media outlets, as well as content and advocacy.
In the ruling, Judge Trevor McFadden stated that the pursuer did not substantiate the claim that these companies were "state actors", further stating:
Interestingly, the judge concluded that whilst "selective censorship of the kind alleged by the Plaintiffs may be antithetical to the American tradition of free speech, it is not actionable under the First Amendment unless perpetrated by a state actor. Thus, their claim must be dismissed."
You can read the full ruling here.
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Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design. Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9