The censorship and discrimination against voices of freedom, along with consistent failure to act against jihad advocates and recruiters, on increasingly important social media platforms has gone on long enough. We’re suing. Pamela Geller weighs in here. AFDI press release here.
“Federal Government Authorizes Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to Censor ‘Anti-Islam’ Speech; Lawsuit Filed,” American Freedom Law Center, July 13, 2016:
Today, the American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenging Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) under the First Amendment.
Section 230 provides immunity from lawsuits to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, thereby permitting these social media giants to engage in government-sanctioned censorship and discriminatory business practices free from legal challenge.
The lawsuit was brought on behalf of the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, and Jihad Watch.
As alleged in the lawsuit, Geller and Spencer, along with the organizations they run, are often subject to censorship and discrimination by Facebook, Twitter and YouTube because of Geller’s and Spencer’s beliefs and views, which Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube consider expression that is offensive to Muslims.
Such discrimination, which is largely religion-based in that these California businesses are favoring adherents of Islam over those who are not, is prohibited in many states, but particularly in California by the state’s anti-discrimination law, which is broadly construed to prohibit all forms of discrimination. However, because of the immunity granted by the federal government, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are free to engage in their otherwise unlawful, discriminatory practices.
As set forth in the lawsuit, Section 230 of the CDA immunizes businesses such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube from civil liability for any action taken to “restrict access to or availability of material that” that they “consider[] to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable, whether or not such material is constitutionally protected.”
Robert Muise, AFLC co-founder and senior counsel, issued the following statement:
“Section 230 of the CDA confers broad powers of censorship upon Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube officials, who can silence constitutionally protected speech and engage in discriminatory business practices with impunity by virtue of this power conferred by the federal government in violation of the First Amendment.”
Muise went on to explain:
“Section 230 is a federal statute that alters the legal relations between our clients and Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, resulting in the withdrawal from our clients of legal protections against private acts. Consequently, per U.S. Supreme Court precedent, state action lies in our clients’ challenge under the First Amendment.”
David Yerushalmi, AFLC co-founder and senior counsel, added:
“Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have notoriously censored speech that they deem critical of Islam, thereby effectively enforcing blasphemy laws here in the United States with the assistance of the federal government.”
Yerushalmi concluded:
“It has been the top agenda item of Islamic supremacists to impose such standards on the West. Its leading proponents are the Muslim Brotherhood’s network of Islamist activist groups in the West and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which co-sponsored, with support from Obama and then-Secretary of State Clinton, a U.N. resolution which called on all nations to ban speech that could promote mere hostility to Islam. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are falling in line, and we seek to stop this assault on our First Amendment freedoms.”
AFLC Co-Founders and Senior Counsel Robert J. Muise and David Yerushalmi, along with the plaintiffs in this case, Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer, will hold a Press Call from 2:00-2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 13. To access this press conference call, dial (641) 715-3655 and enter code 111815.


John spielman says
OK, I and hundreds of millions of others, consider Islam evil and detestable in their teachings that directly advocate violence even murder, and intimidation of unbelievers homosexuals and Christians, and Jews; so BAN Islam from the FACE BOOK, Twitter, etc as well!
Georg says
Replace “nonbeliever”, “Jew”, “People of the Book”, or “woman” in the Koran with “Musim” and see how fast it’d be yanked from the above mentioned sites.
Will Doohan says
Yes Georg, it is very interesting what you come up with when you do that. If you were to write “Kill the Muslims, llie in wait for them and ambush them , and use every strategy of war against them”, you will be condemned as a hatemonger, a bigot, a racist, and islamaphobe. But when muslims quote the Koram, which says the exact same thing, they are allowed to say it and liberals don’t dare condemn it because it’s a “religion”
(p.s. – I don’t think that killing innocent Muslims is morally acceptable nor do I advocate it.)
Mirren10 says
Yay !
I expect you’ll need a lot of money for this, Mr. Spencer. Are you going to set up a link where people can donate ?
eduardo odraude says
There is a donate link on the upper right of this website — I just donated there. It has a paypal option, too.
Mirren10 says
I was meaning a donation to this *specific* law suit.
jihad3tracker says
Hello again Mirren — Here is a suggestion from my ancient foggy cranium on how everyone who wants to specifically contribute to the AFLC’s expenses can be sure the donation is applied to litigation costs:
Send an email to Robert (director@jihadwatch.org) and in it mention the amount you are submitting to Paypal — but make the amount specific down to a quarter and specify that in your message to him —- for example, $50.25.
Mirren10 says
Thanks, jihad3tracker, I’ll do that.
eduardo odraude says
If you use the paypal option (and perhaps otherwise, too), there is place where you can type a note about what the donation is for.
Mirren10 says
Thanks, Eduardo. By the way, are you traeh ?
Tiredofstupid says
This may be the most important lawsuit of our time. I am tired of the Islamists of Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube banning anything critical of Islam while promoting the “religion of peace” as protected speech. About the only thing we have left to protect ourselves from mass muslim immigration is the free speech guaranteed by the first amendment of the Constitution, and without that the Islamists will propagandize without counterpoint and the stupid and naive will support it and we will lose the battle for freedom.
KrazyKafir says
This could be the most important watershed mark in US history.
jihad3tracker says
Hello to TOS and KK — commenting above. YES, I AGREE EMPHATICALLY WITH BOTH OF YOU.
Sometimes a basis for judgment about violations of the First Amendment is so obvious that only a law-school dropout could have written the relevant statute or regulation. FOR EXAMPLE, here is the final part of a paragraph in Section 230 of the CDA, quoted in the post above, just before Mr. Muise’s statement:
” . . . whether or not such material is constitutionally protected.”
THAT IS WORTHY OF A HOMER SIMPSON “DUH !!!!!” AND FACE PALM. But at least it gave me my first hearty chuckle of today.
linnte says
Agreed! And leave it to our Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller to have the BRILLIANCE to succeed at this effort!
Jack Holan says
Robert and Pamela
Yesterday there was an article in the JPost that Israel will be suing FB YouTube Twitter regarding certain posts that lead to terror. Then Shurathadin Did an experiment with two postings posted at the same time same exact verbiage one with Jews one with Muslims. The one perceived portraying a negative image of Muslims was taken down but the Anti Semitic one remained. So Shurathadin is also filing a lawsuit.
Mirren10 says
” … Shurathadin Did an experiment with two postings posted at the same time same exact verbiage one with Jews one with Muslims. The one perceived portraying a negative image of Muslims was taken down but the Anti Semitic one remained. So Shurathadin is also filing a lawsuit.”
**Double** yay !!
Angemon says
Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, etc., are privately (i.e., non-government) owned companies and, as such, they should be allowed to host whatever they very well feel like allowing, as long as they are held accountable. That is not the case here – these companies are teaming up with the government to actively persecute those who express views that go against the official government narrative. I hope they lose, and lose badly.
Mirren10 says
Agreed.
Don McKellar says
Yes, this government tie-in is where these companies are in the wrong. And, of course, Obama’s regime is acting illegally and in conflict with the Constitution.
sog says
Newton said of himself that he stood on the shoulders of giants. We too can incrementally improve the country by standing on the shoulders of giants: Madison, Jefferson, and all…. but instead we have a president and a major party candidate who’d rather pop a cap in the knees of our great founding father (Madison). They follow a “do over” philosophy by not incremental building, but instead tearing down. I’m amazed today at how many people hate Madison, and would rather pursue the philosophy of Saul Alinsky and Pol Pot. To me, the black lives matter bunch are the seed corn for destruction. To me they are the Khmer Rouge.
John Stefan says
Years ago a certain lawyer said that anybody can do anything that they want to do as long as there is no one to stop them. God bless our efforts to stop all of these people even some in high places that want to shut us up because of the truths that we insist on making known. God bless us to keep on shouting the truth and then, God help us to face the music and suffer for it if comes to that. Many innocents are suffering daily because of the lies and murders at the hands of those who follow their model of perfect behaviour, Muhammad. So, if some suffering comes our way, we will think of them as we do even now.
Ren says
Agreed. Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, etc., are pushing towards Dumbama administration sharia compliant. That is against freedom of speech.
Norger says
Agreed. The other issue is that the nature of the platform provided by social media like Facebook & YouTube etc have transformed these media into a new “the public square” on steroids. The reality is that thie these media are extremely powerful, with the ability to get a message to millions, immediately. As we all know, ISIS uses social media quite effectively to attract followers.
When our gov’t gives Facebook et al a tool to censor factual statements or opinions about Islam (or to decide what views about Islam are acceptable to be discussed) in the modern day public square, it really does amount to a government sponsored assault on the first amendment. I hope the AFLC k*cks some a** with this suit.
quota raven says
Exactly right, Angemon – cheers! qr
Linde Barrera says
Hip Hip Hooray for Robert Spencer, Pamela Geller, American Freedom Law Center! Love you all. You are my heroes. I would donate toward this lawsuit too.
eduardo odraude says
Linde, see the donate button toward upper right of this website.
Linde Barrera says
To eduardo odraude- Thank you signaling me to that “Donate” button.
mortimer says
The government can’t stop free speech:
– “Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear.” – Harry S. Truman
-“Goebbels was in favor of free speech for views he liked. So was Stalin. If you’re in favor of free speech, then you’re in favor of freedom of speech precisely for views you despise. Otherwise, you’re not in favor of free speech.” -Noam Chomsky, Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (1992).
-“The price of freedom of religion, or of speech, or of the press, is that we must put up with a good deal of rubbish.” – Justice Robert H. Jackson, chief justice at the Nuremburg Trials
-“…if any opinion is compelled to silence, that opinion may, for aught we can certainly know, be true. To deny this is to assume our own infallibility.”
-John Stuart Mill, On Liberty (1859).
U.S. law values and permits the right to blaspheme.
-Justice Clark in 1952 wrote: “[I]t is enough to point out that the state has no legitimate interest in protecting any or all religions from views distasteful to them. … It is not the business of government in our nation to suppress real or imagined attacks upon a particular religious doctrine.”
-Justice Frankfurter noted that beliefs “ … dear to one may seem the rankest ‘sacrilege’ to another,” and added concerning “sacrilegious” speech: “[H]istory does not encourage reliance on the wisdom and moderation of the censor.”
linnte says
Great post Mortimer. Thanks!
Norger says
Excellent timeless (or perhaps prescient) quotes.
Emilie Green says
Well, if Ollie’s Barbecue is a public accommodation, so too is Facebook and the others. Katzenbach v. McClung, 1964; a 9-0 ruling. And in the case of Facebook, Twitter, and several of the others, they’re publicly-traded / SEC-regulated entities.
By legislating this immunity Congress has authorized others to do what it couldn’t do itself.
So where does Congress have the authority to confer this indirect deprivation of constitutional protections?
No where.
eduardo odraude says
Just used Robert’s donate button to help him pay for this lawsuit. If everybody makes at least a small donation it helps. Am very grateful to Robert Spencer.
Mong says
Anti anything speech is free speech! Speech is speech, it’s hurts nobody! We must all continue to speak our minds because when we don’t we might as well just eat a sandwich of no speech and accept punishments from those who love antibiotics and hate sexy love. TRUMP to do it x
Mong says
Truth is, when you repeatedly tell people what is and isn’t ok to say, most of the population will go along with it no matter how absurd or restrictive it is. If some disease was killing people daily but the government kept on insisting that the deaths had nothing to do with said disease and to make a link was unacceptable, most people would go along with it. People need to call a spade a spade for the sake of a healthy society. Toast for the people who can’t break poo poo xxx
biff says
Facebook is for self indulgent morons.
Facebook etc is responsible for creating Generation Snowflake.
Endless zero content “Social Media” is one of the worst things to come out of the Internet.
Good luck in the battle.
Unfortunately it will go on for decades.
linnte says
Facebook has been a venue for me to inform many many people about the destructive nature of Islam. And also the opposite as posted by many Muslims. I have only been censored a few times and mostly in the beginning of my educational journey into Islam. And after each censor, I posted that I had been censored. I have also noticed, since I use a Google device(Nexus) that Google seems to “mess with or interrupt” communications regarding Islam. Sure wish I had documented all such instances!
Mr.White says
What about this speech ?
There is many others.
Why it works in one direction ?
No Fear says
That bearded demon is lower than a dog turd. What an odious conglomeration of proteins is he. Vile.
Guest says
Yes! Defend the constitution!
Dum Spiro says
Censorship is the first step toward tyranny.
Everyone should want to fight to have and maintain free speech…
— Spero
linnte says
CONGRATULATIONS ROBERT AND PAMELA! My goodness I love you both so much and am proud to be you supporter!
Someone needs to make T shirts to sell in support of this historical event.
Lynne says
Pamela and Robert are true heroes. I’m a Canadian and our troubles are just starting with the new PM we have. Trudeau and Obama are buddy-buddy right now, unfortunately. If I had stayed in Northern Ontario, I would not have been turned on to Jihad Watch and those many brave people fighting for our democracy. Somebody in Ottawa made me aware of these things happening in our world because the regular media sure hasn’t.
billybob says
I am wondering if the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) have been contacted about this action to see if they would be interested in participating. They are usually on the cutting edge of legal actions of just this sort of thing involving the internet and free speech. And if they have been contacted and declined, I would also be interested in knowing why – if they too are beholden to groups like CAIR or somehow tied to money from Saudi Arabia.
“The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an international non-profit digital rights group based in San Francisco in the United States. EFF provides funds for legal defense in court, presents amicus curiae briefs, defends individuals and new technologies from what it considers abusive legal threats, works to expose government malfeasance, provides guidance to the government and courts, organizes political action and mass mailings, supports some new technologies which it believes preserve personal freedoms and online civil liberties, maintains a database and web sites of related news and information, monitors and challenges potential legislation that it believes would infringe on personal liberties and fair use, and solicits a list of what it considers patent abuses with intentions to defeat those that it considers without merit.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Frontier_Foundation
eagle says
This censorship has to be the dear Muslim president’s request. Is this censorship by executive order? I would like to get those in government supporting this censorship on notice. You are fired!!!!!!!!!! I feel this is just another step towards Obama’s marshal law agenda to happen in October. Will congress please stand up and become counted???? This country is so desperate for a leader that loves this country. God Bless America
CE says
Thank you so much Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller. I hope you win your lawsuit.
Some speech however needs to be censored. No one should not be allowed to tell people that God has ordered them to kill anyone who doesn’t agree with our claims as to what are God’s rules.
Islam by it’s own admission seeks to install itself as the sole arbiter over all of human affairs using whatever degree of violence necessary. Sura 9:29 and dozens of others make this crystal clear, and most of these admonitions to commit violence make no mention of “self defense” as being a condition for such violence. As such, Islam is a doctrine of sedition, oppression and bloodshed, and should therefore not be afforded the same freedoms guaranteed other religions under the constitutions of duly elected democratic governments.
CE says
I apologize. I meant to say, “No one should be allowed to tell people that God has ordered them to kill anyone who doesn’t agree with our claims as to what are God’s rules.
Dum Spiro says
Maybe we need to proactively codify into law that the objective examination and dissemination of the existing, written beliefs of any religion (or race, for that matter 😉 ) can never be considered to be “hate speech.”
Why, everyone would be able to see that as a “common sense free speech law…
— Spero
Horseman says
Some smart non-lefty IT guy/gal needs to develop an alternative interface to Facebook and Twitter.
Pogee says
Bless you, Pamela, Robert, and ADFI’s Muise and Yerushalim!!!
Angemon says
Recently, in Germany, the police raided houses because of posts on social media:
http://www.thelocal.de/20160713/german-police-launch-first-nationwide-hate-speech-raids
Angemon says
Jake Holan says
Ah, but did they raid Migrant enclaves on suspicion of terrorist activity? The German Defense Minister admitted there may be as many as 5000 ISIS terrorists in Europe. We know England, France and Germany are the Prime Targets. I believe 5000 was 1/2 the number of terrorists. 1mm Migrants X 1% = 10,000 is more reasonable. The Security Services are wasting resources on perceived Islamophobia a made up word by the Islamic Extremists themselves to deflect attention away from what they are doing. Paranoid PC Merkel is following her Stasi indoctrination going ‘Right’ (in her mind ‘Right’) when she should be protecting her CITIZENS ONCE AGAIN CITIZENS WHO GAVE HER, HER JOB AND CAN TAKE IT AWAY.
UNCLE VLADDI says
The Feds seems to want it both ways: They pretend to agree that the global crime-gang called “islam” is in fact really a “religion” so it’s protected – by the very same law which declares that they can’t help “establish” it.
But islam isn’t a religion at all – it’s really only a global crime-gang.
So, by that very same law, they aren’t allowed to protect it from open criticism.
Result: they are committing fraud by calling it a religion (which by law they can’t endorse or establish any laws to protect anyway) and further they are telling everyone else they have to go along with that same fraud, or they will be arrested for breaking a law against free speech, which doesn’t actually exist.
neversink says
Every time I have complained about virulent anti Semitic rhetoric on Facebook, I get a message from them that they have looked into the matter and determined that such content does not violate their standards. So it’s okay to say “kill the Jews” and lie about Jews on Facebook, but it is not okay to tell the truth about Islam. I hope this is brought up in the lawsuit…..
eagle says
Think we need more?? See if you can save enough time to watch the rest of the story…A person might note, these people have voting rights as per one of Obama’s executive orders. One might ask, why the big push to get the big Muslim numbers into the country??? Hello??? Does anyone care??? Will someone get a message to Congress to somehow over ride this executive order??? Hello??? Anyone home?? Congress will take another 7 week vacation. What is going on? The American people are just like the frog in a pot of boiling water, he doesn’t know he is being boiled alive like the American people. I can’t spell it out any more simply than this??? Almost every state now has legalized Pot. I think Congress is all on pot, no one cares? Does anyone know Obama is funding the Muslim takeover of America with the taxpayer dollars through the refugee program? Paul Ryan does know. They all know. The American people have nothing to say about any of it. Trump or anyone running has no chance to win the election against Hillary. Obama will make certain. Come October, if Hillary does not look like the winner with the American people, Obama will declare Marshall Law, Congress can go home for good. When the Muslims in this country vote, congress can go home for good. Hillary will install Sharia Law and we will all have a good Muslim as a neighbor who reads the Quran, which says through Sharia Law they can treat infidel women and children like cattle and it is fine to rape the infidel woman and children. Obama will be going door to door collecting the guns so his Muslim Brotherhood will not be harmed. It probably is too late for the American people at this time, however, it might be better to know about your enemy and confront them face to face than to be like those in Europe and the middle east and be slaughtered like sheep, with no chance to save your women and children from these mentally ill excuses of mankind. Lock your doors at night, get a good dog and lock and load before you go to bed.
http://cis.org/rush/white-house-recruits-private-sector-increase-refugee-admissions
Clinton Cash…. Have you seen this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkfE10g8xbc
Another good one about the Clintons. So many stories so little time.
UNCLE VLADDI says
Isn’t making a “law” to remove your right to sue a company for libel or slander for their calling you a hateful racist bigot and refusing to let you challenge islam, also “un-Constitutional” in some way?!
Seems Caliph MuBarak Hussein Obsama is trying to have Congress make laws to “Establish” islam as the #1 “religion!”
Ivani Medina says
The spread of Islam in our country depends on the accession of Brazilians. To make it clear that we are opposed to this cultural domain claim of our people, not because we are Catholics, Evangelicals, atheists, Jews, Buddhists, Spiritualists etc., but because we are Brazilians and we want to bequeath to social peace that we enjoy now, to our future generations, the message is to be well understood and assimilated. Becoming clear that this is not a religious issue, but something much more serious, which steps should be taken now to counter-Islam. This simple act of rejection can avoid absurd bloodshed in the future.