Devin Nunes files $250 million lawsuit accusing Twitter of conservative 'shadow bans'

Republican Rep. Devin Nunes accused Twitter in a lawsuit Monday of censoring him and other conservatives during the 2018 elections, as the social media giant admitted it goofed in blocking the content of a conservative commentator last week.

Mr. Nunes, California Republican, argues in his $250 million lawsuit filed in state court in Virginia that Twitter has taken a hands-off approach to scurrilous content directed at conservatives because the company has taken sides, positioning itself as an ally of Democratic politicians and liberal positions on most social issues.

The lawsuit taps into a growing body of thought that Twitter and other Internet giants act like publishers in the market, choosing which content to print or block, rather than providers of an essentially neutral platform.

In that guise, Twitter’s “shadow banning” and the permission it grants to those posting defamatory content against conservatives leave the company liable just as a more traditional media outlet could be, the lawsuit argues. “Shadow banning” is a method through which the audience for a user’s tweets is limited.

“Twitter knew the defamation was (and is) happening,” the lawsuit said. “Twitter let it happen because Twitter had (and has) a political agenda and motive: Twitter allowed (and allows) its platform to serve as a portal of defamation in order to undermine public confidence in plaintiff and to benefit his opponents and opponents of the Republican Party.”