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1. A huge legal defeat for @Twitter, surprisingly at the hands of Bill Clinton ally @Frank_Giustra. A Canadian court has ruled that Giustra is permitted to sue Twitter itself for defamation â something U.S. courts have not allowed. https://www.bccourts.ca/jdb-txt/sc/21/00/2021BCSC0054.htm.
2. Twitter argued the lawsuit should be heard in the U.S., where it would have the protection of the First Amendment & s. 230 of the Communications Decency Act â which the court noted would make the lawsuit impossible. The court said that was a good reason to do it in Canada.
3. This line didnât get a lot of treatment in the ruling but I couldnât help but laugh: Twitter claims it âdoes not mediate or reviewâ tweets. Iâd pass on the good news to @realdonaldtrump but heâs been mediated and reviewed and is unavailable.
4. Giustra is a Clinton Foundation billionaire â heâs normally the sort of guy who loves Silicon Valley oligarchs. But he obviously was personally hurt by tweets that defamed him. He has unlimited resources and a good law firm. Twitter wonât be able to roll over him.
5. Section 230 is supposed to protect the internet from lawsuits for things they didnât themselves publish. Like protecting phone companies from what people talk about on a phone call. Twitter is an active editor, but they use that law. Guess what: that law isnât in Canada.
6. This ruling will probably be appealed by Twitter, but it looks pretty solid to me. This may be the first time Twitter actually mounts a legal defence for defamation â and they wonât have s. 230 or the First Amendment to help them. In Canada, they are absolutely publishers.
7. Obviously this applies to every social media company from YouTube to Facebook to Wikipedia. U.S. courts have made them immune to legal consequences for defamation. A Canadian court just said: youâre not in Kansas anymore, Toto. And to think itâs at the hands of a top Democrat.
8. My experience with Canadian defamation law says Giustra is going to win, on the substance. Twitter will be held liable for the comments published on its app, since they didnât delete them after he asked. Maybe heâll get $1M. But the precedent is worth a thousand times that.
9. cc. @pnjaban @LibertarianBlue @RonColeman @thevivafrei @barnes_law @JamesADamore @DennisPrager @RealCandaceO
