Twitter-Banned Vaccine Critic Threatens Legal Action
August 30 2021 - 1:59PM
Dow Jones News
By Dan Molinski
Alex Berenson, a notable critic of coronavirus vaccine mandates
and forced mask-wearing who on Saturday was banned permanently from
Twitter, said Monday he may sue the social media giant.
"A potential suit is complex and would cover--at a
minimum--First Amendment issues, contract law, and drug/vaccine
law," Berenson, a former New York Times reporter, said on the
online platform Substack. "I understand now more than I ever have
before how valuable the feed was for people. Further, in suspending
it, Twitter has blocked the links and screenshots to the studies
referenced in the tweets, making vital public health information
harder to find."
A Twitter spokesperson confirmed Berenson's lifetime ban, saying
in an email Monday it was due to "repeated violations of our
Covid-19 misinformation rules." Berenson was given a weeklong ban
from Twitter about a month ago due to a different alleged
infraction.
The Twitter spokesperson didn't say what Tweet specifically may
have led to the permanent suspension, but Berenson said he believes
it was for one that said: "It doesn't stop infection. Or
transmission. Don't think of it as a vaccine...Think of it--at
best--as a therapeutic with a limited window of efficacy and
terrible side effect profile that must be dosed IN ADVANCE OF
ILLNESS...And we want to mandate it? Insanity."
Berenson's ban on Twitter comes after the Biden White House in
recent months called publicly for social-media firms such as
Twitter to crack down on what it calls "misinformation," especially
as it relates to the coronavirus pandemic.
"The major platforms have a responsibility related to the health
and safety of all Americans to stop amplifying untrustworthy
content, disinformation and misinformation," White House Press
Secretary Jen Psaki said in May.
Write to Dan Molinski at dan.molinski@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 30, 2021 14:44 ET (18:44 GMT)
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