Lawyers See Little Chance for 1st Amendment Lawsuits Such as Trump's
First Amendment lawyers say Trump's lawsuits against Big Tech are likely doomed, but that might not deter similar litigation.
July 14, 2021 at 05:44 PM
4 minute read
President Trump's official portrait on display inside the Northern District of California. Jason Doiy / The Recorder This article first appeared in The Future of Litigation: What's Next briefing. Click here to learn more and subscribe.
Former President Donald Trump's new lawsuits against Facebook, YouTube and Twitter come amid increased scrutiny of the power social media companies power yield, but First Amendment lawyers say legally, the threshold hasn't changed in favor of the plaintiffs bar.
"There does seem to be a concerted effort among some defamation plaintiffs lawyers and some people active in the policy sphere to use [defamation and First Amendment] lawsuits as a weapon against new media outlets and other things that say things that they don't like," said Matthew E. Kelley, an associate with Ballard Spahr in Washington, D.C.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston of the Northern District of California recently granted Facebook's request to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s anti-vaccination group Children's Health Defense, which had claimed the company conspired with the federal government to censor and block its content. But Kelley isn't sure it'll deter others from filing their own.
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