Facebook Sued for Censoring Posts Naming the Trump Whistle-BlowerNovember 12, 2019
Facebook Inc. was accused in a lawsuit of censorship by a user who says the company hasnt explained to him why it deleted three of his posts that named the alleged Ukraine whistle-blower who kicked off the presidential impeachment inquiry.
Connecticut law school student Cameron Atkinson says he wanted to test whether the social network was blocking posts that mentioned the identity ascribed to the whistle-blower by conservative media outlets. So he called the whistle-blower a hero in one post and a dirty rat in another -- and said in a third post that he has conflicting thoughts about naming the person publicly. All three posts were removed within hours, according to the complaint filed Tuesday in federal court.
Congressional investigators have kept the whistle-blowers name secret, voicing concerns about the persons safety if it were made public. Mainstream media organizations have cited the same rationale for not publicizing the persons identity.
"Any mention of the potential whistle-blowers name violates our coordinating harm policy, which prohibits content outing of witness, informant, or activist, Facebook said in a statement. We are removing any and all mentions of the potential whistle-blowers name and will revisit this decision should their name be widely published in the media or used by public figures in debate.
Atkinson claims Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg harbors political ambitions and his censorship of concerned citizens is intentional and is inspired by ill-will, malice, and a desire to deflect attention from himself and Facebooks practice of surreptitiously mining data for profit from consumers who believe they are receiving a free service devoted primarily to their welfare.
The case is Atkinson v. Facebook Inc., 19-cv-01785, U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut.