Journalist Laura Loomer has filed for a $3 billion defamation suit against social media giant Facebook for banning her from the social media platforms Facebook and Instagram. Loomer filed a complaint in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida and implied that the social media giant had defamed her by calling her a domestic terrorist and a “dangerous individual”.
The suit is available in full here.
“Laura Loomer is an American heroine, who puts principle ahead of her own safety and well being. By calling Ms. Loomer dangerous and banning her from Facebook and its related wholly owned and controlled entity Instagram, the companies have not only maliciously defamed her but in effect issued another Intifada to harm her for criticism of Reps. Omar and Tlaib and their blatant anti-Semitism. This will not stand and Facebook will be made to pay dearly for its actions,” said former Justice Department prosecutor Lary Klayman.
Facebook banned Loomer and a few more conservative figures such as Paul Joseph Watson and Alex Jones in the recent past. The social media giant said that it decided to ban a few accounts as it found them “dangerous.” In this regard, several accounts including Loomer’s were banned on May 2nd, 2019.
“In an effort to prevent and disrupt real-world harm, we do not allow any organizations or individuals that proclaim a violent mission or are engaged in violence, from having a presence on Facebook,” said the community standards on Facebook.
The banning of high-profile conservatives and calling them “dangerous” sparked a severe controversy and outrage among internet users. Many wondered how conservative figures could be deemed more dangerous than groups such as ANTIFA and ISIS, which, according to Loomer, are active on both Instagram and Facebook.
Loomer was also banned from other prominent platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Paypal, and Medium. It was revealed that CAIR (Council on American Islamic Relations) has had meetings with Twitter and Facebook executives, after which the ban on Loomer was put into action. In this connection, Loomer had also sued CAIR and Twitter in April.
Loomer said that the ban and characterizing her as a “dangerous” individual had damaged her reputation, financial well-being, and good-will. As the social media giant is worth well over $63 billion, Loomer sued the company for $3 billion, amounting to 5% of its network which is a standard calculation for punitive damages.
