Vimeo's Section 230 Win in Pastor's Discrimination Suit Affirmed by Appeals Court

March 11, 2021 4:32pm PT by Ashley Cullins MARTIN BUREAU/AFP via Getty Images Vimeo was entitled to delete the account of a pastor who posted videos about sexual orientation change efforts, according to a federal appeals court, which affirmed a decision that the video-sharing site is protected by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. James Domen and Church United in June 2019 sued video-sharing site Vimeo for allegedly censoring and discriminating against him based on his “preferred” sexual orientation and religious beliefs. The pastor, who says he identifies as a “former homosexual,” posted a series of videos in an effort to challenge a California Assembly bill that would have expanded laws that ban sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE). Vimeo sent a warning letter, explaining that it doesn’t allow videos that promote SOCE, and threatening to delete the videos or the entire Church United account if Domen didn’t remove the offending content. U.S. District Judge Stewart D. Aaron in January dismissed the suit, finding Section 230 gave Vimeo immunity from such a suit because it restricted the content in good faith. On Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit agreed and affirmed the decision. While there’s been…
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