Nunes sues Twitter, some users, seeks over $250M

Links:
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/nu...250m-for-anti-conservative-shadow-bans-smears
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/mar/18/devin-nunes-sues-twitter-over-conservative-shadow-/

ALL LEGAL EXPERTS, PLEASE GIVE YOUR OPINION!

And I ask all of you to forget about who is a "Conservative" or a "Liberal" for the moment. My 'red-alert' for opening this thread is, WHAT ABOUT "New York Times versus Sullivan" (1964)! Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Times_Co._v._Sullivan

Personal disclosure: yes, I'm a rock-solid Conservative, but I hate the idea of any "public figure", like Nunes, suing people for "defamation"! Sure, the whole internet has become a vast battlefield for heated political warfare, and a lot of it is full of lies, distortion, manipulation and MOTIVE. But, the landmark case, "New York Times versus Sullivan" has served to protect ALL Americans from retaliation-lawsuits when they criticize those who qualify as PUBLIC FIGURES.

The person who is filing suit is Rep. Devin Nunes, U.S. House of Representatives, from California's 22nd district (Republican)... and that makes him a PUBLIC FIGURE according to the 45-year precident set by "New York Times versus Sullivan".

BTW, I would feel just as much apprehension about this if Nunes were a liberal Democrat instead of a conservative Republican.

Please, you 'legal experts' -- weigh in on this! Ultimately, this issue would affect all public debate and the freedom of speech itself, right down to what we can say in forums like this one without having to be worried about being sued....

 

Actually I'll disagree. It's time to end exemptions for public figures. They more than anyone else have reputations to uphold and the smearing and slander can have real life consequences for people.

Plus, this #FakeNews is way out of control. Way out of control. The media for instance is not only claiming Trump is a racist, but that he's a white supremacist and responsible for the Christchurch shooting. This was in an actual editorial. Dumb people don't know the difference between news and editorials. Lies like that get out there and spreads like cancer. A return to civility requires a return to responsibility.

 

I think you may be beginning to catch on......bravo! Well said.

 

Twitters T’s and C’s have them covered. This isnt their first Rodeo.

That being said, this is a freedom of speech issue. And it comes in two pieces:
1. You have a right to free speech
2. You do NOT have a right to speak it on someone else’s platform.

The first covers the “defemiation” part. And the second covers the “shadow banning” BS.

Both of these “rights” have been held by the courts for a very long time. Facebook and many others have weathered many suits of this very kind

 

The "lawsuit" will be laughed out of court.

 

And you have a right to sue anyone, for any reason.... and if it leads to blowing wide open the social media's dirty laundry, their lies, biased algorithms, their attacks on the freedom of speech, their Pravda-style censorship, double standards, one-sided selective enforcement and blatant attempt to brainwash and influence the results of elections - so be it.

 

True.

And, the Judicial System has the right to Laugh it out of Court.

 

It's called a trial by jury and it WILL take place and the social media's lies, biases, fascist censorship, double standards, brainwashing, deliberate attempts to affect elections will be exposed for the entire country and world to see. This will be the victory and this is what Nunes is after. They can laugh $250 million out of court, it's fine, it's not the real goal.

 

Please, please, PUH-LEEEEEEZE let me be one of those users he sues. Let me get his sorry @ss into a deposition under oath!

Jeebuzz - grant me this one small boon and I'll never ask for anything evah again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Actually, the judge can torpedo it before it ever sees a jury. Ask Carter Page...

 

Who would have thunk it Dirty Devin Nunes trying to shut down Dirty Donalds main method of communication???

 

PUNCH BACK TWICE AS HARD: Nunes sues Twitter, some users, seeks over $250M alleging anti-conservative ‘shadow bans,’ smears.

Seems like when Hollywood was blacklisting folks over their views that the Left protested, was that all just posturing on their part?

Yup.

That sums it up.

Indubitably.

Exactly.

 

I love that he is suing an account that claims to be one of his cows. And that he is clearly not the butt end of a human centipede.

 

I love that Nunes is filing a lawsuit based on a tweet that he is the caboose of a human centipede and I hope the media covers it appropriately.

 

I place myself in the camp of believing that NY v Sullivan was absolutely the correct decision. Slander and libel laws must be balanced against the right of privacy and individuals who routinely hold themselves in the public realm have lower degree of reasonable expectation of privacy. And more of their behavior qualifies as news that the general public wants and deserves to know.

Plus, you would now severely crush the free press because they would be subject to a massive expansion of liability such that any time they would remotely come close to accusing someone of a misdeed or even reported on the allegation of a misdeed, they would need to go to court to prove that the misdeed did, in fact, occur.

Now, I have not read his lawsuit and I have to imagine that his lawyers are well aware of the NYv Sullivan decision, and so I have no idea why they believe his lawsuit should succeed. Unless they are actively angling for a new Supreme Court decision based on Justice Thomas recent concurrence that suggested he believed NY v Sullivan was wrongly decided.

 

And yet you ALL defended Facebook........

And this “victimization” by the right is beyond ridiculous. “Shadow Banning” BS

 

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

Twitter doesnt create the “content”, the user community does......FFS

Conservatives have turned into a bunch of whiny little bitches who cry “victim” at every turn. It’s getting laughable

 

Not before Nunes and a bunch of far right wing groups raise money off of it. After all, that's all it is.

 

I'm sure the right wing trash blogs you read are already beseeching you to give Nunes money. That's what this is all about. He'll be laughed out of court.

Of course, by then, you'll have moved on to the newest shiny object that Trump or Sham Hammity is peddling, and you won't even notice.

 

LOL, poor Tom, so worried that liberal lies, fascist censorship, double standards, biased algorithms and blatant manipulation of our elections by social media monopolies will finally be exposed to the entire country and the world.

In all fairness you should worry, if you could not beat Trump with their help, where are you all going to be when they are exposed as leftist fraud that they are and are neutered.

 

How would NYT vs Sullivan qualify? It doesn't since Twitter is not a self proclaimed publisher.

 

I'm not worried.

And that pointless collection of slogans, false memes, and name calling won't make Trump into a man.

 

LOL.... This is the first and only time I wish I were "DevinNunesMom"

I have little to no opinion on this, other than I hope Nunes continues his 2 year losing streak because he's a tool

From my DETAILED (I.E. Wiki) reading on NYT vs Sullivan, I sort of agree with @Hoosier8 in post #21 in that I don't see how that decision is a parallel to this situation, as I don't consider Twitter "the press"...

 

Amen. Great post.

Those things which I bolded should concern everyone. Those who want to ignore this because it is currently benefiting "their side" should ask themselves how they will like it if the shoe is ever on the other foot, because the tides almost always change eventually.

 

You do not automatically get to the discovery phase, let alone to a jury trial, simply because you file a lawsuit.