Joined: 12 Aug 2013 Age: 48 Gender: Male Posts: 3,998 Location: Melbourne, Australia
19 Jan 2021, 10:33 pm
It appears a Canadian billionaire is suing Twitter for defamation, and has succeeded in having the case heard in Canada, rather than transferred to California, where "1st ammendment" and "Section 230" would likely have the case terminated (no doubt Twitter will appeal this).
Depending on how the case proceeds, it could have a large impact on Twitter, Youtube, and Facebook, given that defences such as "Section 230" do not exist within Canada. Similarly, any arguments they try to use (such as 1st ammendments, or section 230) run the risk of backfiring if brought up in another, later case, where someone suing them points out any defences used now which conflict with a defence used later (for example, "posts were allowed under 1st ammendment, so we did not remove them", follwed by "we are not required to uphold the first ammendment, being a private company, so removed\filtered posts\blocked users").
Quote:
West Vancouver billionaire Frank Giustra has been given the go-ahead to sue Twitter in a B.C. courtroom over the social media giant's publication of a series of tweets tying him to baseless conspiracy theories involving pedophile rings and Bill and Hillary Clinton.
In a ruling released Thursday, Justice Elliott Myers found that Giustra's history and presence in British Columbia, combined with the possibility the tweets may have been seen by as many as 500,000 B.C. Twitter users, meant a B.C. court should have jurisdiction over the case.
It's a victory not only for Giustra — whose philanthropic activities have earned him membership in both the Orders of Canada and B.C. — but for Canadian plaintiffs trying to hold U.S.-based internet platforms responsible for border-crossing content.
Joined: 12 Aug 2013 Age: 48 Gender: Male Posts: 3,998 Location: Melbourne, Australia
20 Jan 2021, 3:37 am
TheRobotLives wrote:
I wonder if he requested the content to be removed, and if they obliged or denied his request?
Not sure on that...The closest the article comes to answering was:
Quote:
The court filings include a letter he wrote to Twitter chief executive officer Jack Dorsey in April 2018, asking him to make his case a priority.
"As Twitter's CEO, I ask that you now investigate the source of these past and ongoing attacks against me — whether they are the result of individuals, a group, bots, or a combination of all three," Giustra wrote.
Given the content of the messages, I'd be surprised if he hadn't asked that they be blocked/removed as well.
19 Jan 2021, 10:33 pm
