Pamela Geller Suing Facebook For Censoring Speech Critical Of Islam

It’ll be interesting to see where this even goes.

According to this, Pamela Geller (of “Draw Muhammad” contest fame – among other things) has announced that she is suing Facebook for censoring speech that might offend Muslims –

Every day I received emails from readers and members of my various Facebook groups, asking for help after having been blocked for posting a story or comment that might offend Muslims.
This is America, not Saudi Arabia. Enough.

I am suing.

The American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) is filing a federal lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenging Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) under the First Amendment. In a press release, he AFLC explained that “Section 230 provides immunity from lawsuits to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, thereby permitting these social media giants to engage in government-sanctioned censorship and discriminatory business practices free from legal challenge.” The lawsuit was brought on behalf of the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, and Jihad Watch.

I’m a little wary of stuff like this, personally. On the one hand, Facebook is a private company and they have their own policies that they can carry out as they see fit. On the other hand, Facebook has constantly propped themselves up and advertised their brand as a vehicle for communication and connecting with others, regardless of political or religious opinion. It’s kind of like the invention of the telephone – a phone doesn’t make you stop talking, even if the phone company doesn’t agree with what you’re saying. Facebook is a communications tool just like a phone.

Now, Facebook hasn’t (so far as I can tell) become like Twitter, where Twitter has been overrun with the Cult of Social Justice speech police. But there have been instances where right-leaning political speech has been shut down – though it’s usually been an honest mistake. And, to be fair, I’ve seen a fair number of instances where left-leaning speech has been taken down as well. It’s mostly anecdotal, unfortunately, but it happens.

I admit – I’m probably the only conservative on the planet that’s willing to give Facebook the benefit of the doubt. And I’m shoring up my email inbox for the onslaught of “How DARE you side with Mark Zuckerberg!!” that’s sure to come my way.

But here’s my thing – ever heard of Hanlon’s Razor? If you don’t know, it’s a trope that comes from a quote by Robert J. Hanlon – “Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.” Until proven otherwise (like if your name is Clinton and you just can’t stop being an insanely corrupt liar), most people’s mistakes are simply that – mistakes. Do we call them out for it when mistakes are made? Of course! That’s how people learn and get better.

Is Facebook perfect? No. Nothing invented or run by human beings is perfect. There is ALWAYS inherent bias somewhere along the line. To pretend otherwise is to deny human nature.

But the assumption that mistakes were made maliciously is kind of tired and old. At least, they are from where I’m standing.