CTH spidey senses are on maximum alert on the background to this story.
On its face Twitter is suing Texas AG Ken Paxton for targeting them with inquiries into their practice of censorship and deplatforming. The lawsuit baseline is essentially (and ironically) because Paxton is a government official, Twitter is claiming their ‘first amendment’ right to control speech on their private platform is under attack.
However, you might ask yourself why Twitter chose Paxton and not Florida Governor DeSantis or any other government official who is doing essentially the same thing as AG Paxton with their efforts against Big Tech. This is where suspicious cat comes into play because there’s always another angle with these tech leftists…. you just need to know how to spot it.
Ken Paxton is under investigation by the FBI for an unrelated securities fraud case, and there has been a long-standing court battle underway. If you have watched the ideological merge, the alliance of common interests between Big Tech leftists and DOJ/FBI leftists, you might consider the appearance of a convenient leverage situation here that would explain why Twitter selected Paxton. [Insert Suspicious Cat Here]
ASSOCIATED PRESS – Twitter has filed a lawsuit against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, claiming the Republican used his office to retaliate against it for banning the account of former President Donald Trump following the riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Days after the deadly January insurrection, Paxton announced an investigation into Twitter and four other major technology companies for what he called “the seemingly coordinated de-platforming of the President.” The attorney general’s office demanded that the companies produce a variety of records related to their content moderation policies and troves of internal communications.
Twitter responded Monday with a federal lawsuit alleging Paxton is seeking to punish it for taking Trump’s account offline — a decision the social media company says is protected free speech. It asks a judge to declare the decision to be under the ambit of the First Amendment and to, in essence, halt Paxton’s investigation.
“Paxton made clear that he will use the full weight of his office, including his expansive investigatory powers, to retaliate against Twitter for having made editorial decisions with which he disagrees,” lawyers for the company wrote in the suit filed in a Northern California court.
Spokespersons for Paxton’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday evening.
Twitter’s counterpunch comes as states, in addition to federal lawmakers and governments outside the U.S., are cracking down on tech companies they see as having amassed too much power in the past decade. This includes antitrust and anti-monopoly regulation, internet privacy laws as well as attempts to regulate how platforms like Twitter, Facebook and others moderate their sites. (read more)
I put people that are still on Twitwitter in the same category as those that like to hit themselves on the hand with a 3 pound drilling hammer.
The crux of this
For you to use the Twitter platform, you agree to let Twitter track, store and sell you digital information. This is information that is created by you, and unique property. Then after they have your payment they deny you their platform.
If you bought yourself a brand new shotgun for duck hunting, the best on the market, and then opening morning in the duck blind, waiting for official sunrise and a flight of ducks are coming in on your decoys and your raise your shotgun, take aim, squeeze the trigger and click. The manufacturer turns your trigger off because you are a deplorable, neanderthal that shoots ducks and they believe you should not shoot ducks.
Same thing Twitter is doing.
Hopefully ducks, then cucks that infest DC
Only if the gun manufacturer gave you the gun for free would you have an argument to make.
Full disclosure, I cancelled my Twitter account last year and counsel everyone else to do the same.
Curious cat needs to be an emoji.
As a Texan, I need to watch closely to see if AG Paxton will stand up to the the Deep State. He always has stood his ground in the past and hopefully will in the future. He took the El Paso County Judge to court three times to free the citizens of El Paso county from having a curfew that was against the law. So far, I like what I see.
Yep, they are attacking Paxton because he organized several Sovereign States (which are superior to the federal entity) to ask a question about the election irregularities.
Therefore, Paxton is dangerous to the uniparty. He is over the target, drawing flak.
He will go all the way.
My first thought was they are taking a page Dominion company did, any high-profile person who promised to come after them they sued for 1.3 what is it million, billion… just for accusing them. How many have back-off on their countersuit? Bullies all of them.
You do not have standing before this court.
At this point there should be next to zero conservatives on twitter, only liberals and RINO’s. They will tire of not having conservative voices to complain about and argue with. They will then start attacking each other or abandon the platform.
the eff bee eye is to America
what the kay jee bee was to the Soviet Union.
So twitter is suing the Texas AG for trying to stop them from infringing on other peoples’ right to free speech, even though they strenuously defend continuation of their immunity from liability for other peoples’ speech. No hypocrisy to see here … move along.
Am I missing something “retaliate against Twitter for having made editorial decisions” is not the broad protections they enjoy due to the fact they are a platform ? Not a publisher.
This should all prove very interesting and might well provide an opportunity to rein in Big Tech. Sadly, our govt is so broken, not sure I have much hope it will.
With that suit Twitter has all but admitted they are a publisher, not a platform. Don’t need to chg Sec 230, just need to start enforcing it as it was intended to be used.
Trump made Twitter.
Twitter was dying a thousand cuts.
Sovereign immunity. Motion to Dismiss.
Oh Suspicious Cat, you are RIGHT on the $$ with this analysis I am convinced!