9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals,
Constitutional Law
Aug. 12, 2024
9th Circuit splits on Meta's free speech obligations
"I perceive no basis for concluding that Meta, in operating such unprecedented legally-hybrid platforms, has any sort of supervening constitutional right to team up with the Government to suppress the speech of particular speakers, or on particular topics ...," 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Daniel P. Collins wrote in a dissent on whether Meta censored an anti-vaccine group at the bidding of the Biden White House.
A divided 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel affirmed on Friday the dismissal of a lawsuit by Children's Health Defense, an anti-vaccine group, against Meta Platforms Inc. alleging First Amendment violations because the company first labeled the group's posts false and then removed the accounts.
But in a sweeping dissent, Judge Daniel P. Collins, an appointee of President Donald Trump, wrote that Meta - the Menlo Park company that owns Facebook and Instagram - "...
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