It would appear the additional discussions that delayed yesterday’s expected filing were not fruitful.
Free speech social media site Gab AI, Inc. filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against Google for violations of the Clayton Act and Sherman Act. The lawsuit stems from Google removing Gab from its Google Play Android app store on spurious grounds of “hate speech” arising from posts by users.
Google did not accuse Gab of hate speech, but used third party content as a pretext to justify its own business ends. Gab, a startup, aims to bring “folks together of all races, religions, and creeds who share in the common ideals of Western values, individual liberty and the free exchange and flow of information.”
According to Gab’s attorney, Marc Randazza, Google’s conduct is a straightforward violation of the antitrust laws “Google Play and Android have monopoly power in the app store market, and Google’s apps YouTube and Google+ compete directly against Gab. Google’s intimate partnership with Twitter, which also competes against Gab, makes Google’s control of all Android apps available through the Play Store a serious restraint of trade issue.”
Randazza noted, “regardless of Google’s pretextual justification for removing Gab, the effect is that they used their monopoly power in the app store to block an upstart competitor it in the social media app market, to the detriment of millions of consumers who value free speech.”
The monopoly issue may work for Gab. But I don’t like their chances for two reasons. First, Google’s resources. Second, the Gab team really seems to be flying blind on the moderation issue. Now, I obviously disagree with their position, which is why I have filed a petition against them. And considering that I had to do so due to their complete refusal to moderate their posts, I don’t see that they have any ability to claim they are abiding by Google’s terms of service. Which, of course, means they have handed Google a perfect excuse to stonewall them.
Oh, the irony…. This is mildly amusing.
Well, we’ve collected a whole lot of examples of defamation and defamation per se, but I don’t think Andrew is going to find them very useful to his case. The point is not that the other social networks don’t moderate effectively, the point is that Gab openly refuses to moderate at all. It is not up to Gab, or even the court, to define what Google considers to be “a sufficient level of moderation” when all Google has to do is demonstrate that Gab does not provide ANY moderation, even upon request.
UPDATE: Andrew Torba claims that Gab does moderate posts. That is likely true, to a very limited extent. The question is, is whatever level of moderation they presently provide sufficient when Gab’s management openly brags that they do not moderate for defamation or defamation per se as defined by their registrar, or by Texas law and the Texas courts, and that they will harass users who pursue legal means of redress.
Andrew TorbaPRO · @a
If our registrar requires us to remove something again we will publish it here and let everyone know that you whined to them because someone hurt your feelings with mean words on the internet.
Andrew TorbaPRO · @a
Note that these are recorded. Keep going. Please this will be fun. I am more alpha than you will ever be. Try me.
Andrew TorbaPRO · @a
Vox I’ll publish every email you ever sent us and phone calls which have been recorded, Please try me. You can destroy your personal brand all you want, but you’re not going to drag down Gab with it. Mark my words.
It seems to me that he’s doing an efficient job of dragging down Gab without any help from me. Here is a partial list of the posts being sent to Asia Registry for review by the LLoE. It demonstrates, rather conclusively, that Gab simply does not moderate to the standard set by Facebook and Twitter, and, more importantly, Google.
- https://gab.ai/tdawg911/posts/12090691
- https://gab.ai/FreeinTX/posts/12065490
- https://gab.ai/FreeinTX/posts/12065748
- https://gab.ai/FreeinTX/posts/12107799
- https://gab.ai/FreeinTX/posts/12125780
- https://gab.ai/FreeinTX/posts/12126457
- https://gab.ai/FreeinTX/posts/12127469
- https://gab.ai/FreeinTX/posts/12127738
- https://gab.ai/FreeinTX/posts/12128833
- https://gab.ai/FreeinTX/posts/12129102
- https://gab.ai/FreeinTX/posts/12130342
- https://gab.ai/FreeinTX/posts/12128833
- https://gab.ai/FreeinTX/posts/12129450
- https://gab.ai/FreeinTX/posts/12186103
- https://gab.ai/Fashdaddey/posts/11862161
- https://gab.ai/Fashdaddey/posts/11839913
- https://gab.ai/roonyroo/posts/12180125
- https://gab.ai/Valaranumenoriano/posts/12160268
- https://gab.ai/Deacon_Jim/posts/12156043
- https://gab.ai/GTKRWN/posts/12147100
- https://gab.ai/gaystapo/posts/12112801
- https://gab.ai/WilhelmL/posts/12090962
- https://gab.ai/Ungern/posts/12086315
- https://gab.ai/Pepe_Memes/posts/12077259
- https://gab.ai/MorbiousStone/posts/12076537
- https://gab.ai/Whiteknight007/posts/12071038
- https://gab.ai/Pepe_Memes/posts/12067941
- https://gab.ai/GTKRWN/posts/12067637
- https://gab.ai/h4rdm0us/posts/12063396
- https://gab.ai/h4rdm0us/posts/12062548
- https://gab.ai/Pepe_Memes/posts/12061817
- https://gab.ai/Pepe_Memes/posts/12060233
- https://gab.ai/Pepe_Memes/posts/12046728
- https://gab.ai/Pepe_Memes/posts/12041396