Appeals Court Confirms Vimeo Victory In Suit By 'Former Homosexual'

by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, 6 hours ago A federal appellate panel has reiterated its earlier ruling that “former homosexual” James Domen can’t proceed with claims that Vimeo violated anti-discrimination laws by removing his videos touting gay conversion therapy and deleting the account of Church United, which he founded.The move came just one week after the same appellate judges granted Domen’s request to reconsider their earlier ruling, handed down in March.The amended decision, issued by Circuit Judges Rosemary Pooler, Richard Wesley and Susan Carney, is several pages longer than the March ruling but reached the same result: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects the online video company from Domen’s claims.Section 230 broadly immunizes web publishers from liability for users’ posts, including ones that are defamatory. Section 230 also protects websites from lawsuits over content moderation — including decisions to suppress speech that is legal, but violates a site’s terms of service. (The First Amendment also protects companies from lawsuits over content moderation.)advertisementadvertisementThe new decision includes a statement that Section 230 protections are not absolute, writing: “Our decision should not be read to confer immunity on providers acting in circumstances far afield from the facts of this case.”But it’s not…
Read More