Polish Organization Sues Facebook Over Censorship, Demands Public Apology

A Polish anti-drug organization is suing Facebook after being banned earlier this year, and demands full reinstatement on the platform as well as a public apology from the big tech giant.

Poland’s ‘Civil Society Drug Policy Initiative’, Społeczna Inicjatywa Narkopolityki or SIN in Polish, filed a lawsuit against Facebook after it was banned on Facebook in 2018 and on Instagram in January of this year.

Their website notes that in 2018, “without any warning or clear explanation, Facebook removed fan pages and groups run by SIN. The platform had characterized them as ‘in violation of community standards'”, and that Instagram followed suit in January of 2019.

SIN writes that “Such unjustified and excessive removal of content by online platforms is often referred to as ‘private censorship’”, and calls it “particularly dangerous today, when the online environment is dominated by a handful of platforms with a global reach which have become the key channels.”

The lawsuit, filed on May 7, demands “restoration of access to the removed pages and accounts as well as a public apology.”

If successful, it could potentially pose a serious threat to the censorship campaign Facebook continued last week when it banned prominent American and British conservatives Alex Jones, Paul Joseph Watson, Laura Loomer, and Milo Yiannopoulos.

Big League Politics exclusively reported that Facebook gave advanced notice to left-wing media outlets of their intention to ban the conservatives, and hired a woman who formerly worked for Hillary Clinton’s failed presidential campaign, the Obama White House, and the Clinton Global Initiative to distribute information about the bans.

The platform also appears to believe in guilt by association, as they noted that part of the reason Jones was banned on Facebook and Instagram was his decision to interview the Canadian founder of the Proud Boys, Gavin McInnes, on his radio and TV program.