A pro-life activist is taking advantage of an anti-censorship law in Florida to take on one of the biggest and most tyrannical of Big Tech companies.
Represented by the Thomas More Society, Trudy Perez-Poveda is suing Google and challenging the tech giant’s decision to suddenly deplatform and block her access to Gmail and other Google apps. Just prior to the ban, the 76-year-old had used her Google account to share information about a pro-life event. The Thomas More Society noted in a recent release about the suit that Perez-Poveda is able to sue Google thanks to a free speech law in Florida that was recently challenged at the U.S. Supreme Court in Moody v. Net Choice.
The censorship happened shortly after Perez-Poveda had used Gmail for her pro-life work: “An hour after she emailed members of her pro-life group to join her for a Catholic Mass and prayer gathering in front of a Jacksonville abortion clinic,” the Thomas More Society explained. Google then abruptly blocked the pro-life advocate from accessing more than a decade of her personal data, including emails, contacts, photographs and calendars. The Society reported that Google initially gave Perez-Poveda no explanation.
Google’s actions are in violation of Florida law which requires a prompt and complete explanation of censorship against private users, or the users can sue. According to the release, Google gave Perez-Poveda a belated and vague explanation, claiming she had allegedly violated its “Acceptable Use Policies.” However, the tech company did not specify how the pro-life activist had violated the policy, despite her multiple requests for more information. She and the Thomas More Society are insisting Google return her “property.”
Perez-Poveda explained in a statement what it felt like to have her email access and personal information gone in one fell swoop. “It felt like coming home to a house, which took me twelve years to furnish with family mementos and treasures, and find it completely empty without even a note explaining why,” she said.
Thomas More Society Senior Counsel Matt Heffron also commented on the prevalence of censorship and the severity of this assault on freedom of speech. “There is an ominous growth of censorship in this country. Large social-media companies act as a ‘digital public square,’ and play a central role in the debate of ideas. Our case, Trudy v. Google, is part of the urgent and overdue pushback against this rising tide of censorship.”
The Supreme Court punted on a major decision in the case involving the Florida law, Moody v. Net Choice, sending the decision back to lower courts, though it acknowledged potential free speech concerns.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on so-called “hate speech” and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using MRC Free Speech America’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
