(Friso Gentsch/dpa via AP)
SAN FRANCISCO (CN) — In a lawsuit claiming Facebook conspired with the federal government to squelch an anti-vaccine group’s speech, a federal judge on Wednesday questioned whether the state can work with private companies to combat misinformation without violating the First Amendment.
Senior U.S. District Judge Susan Illston oversees a lawsuit brought by Children’s Health Defense (CHD), a Georgia nonprofit founded by vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The group publishes information about supposed harms associated with vaccines and 5G wireless networks, which critics have denounced as conspiracy theories and misinformation.
In January 2019, Facebook started slapping warning labels on content posted on CHD’s Facebook page, including in September that year when the social media giant posted a message directing users to seek “reliable, up-to-date information” about vaccines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Facebook also started labeling some of CHD’s content as “false information” based on research by third-party fact checkers, including a link to an article claiming vaccinated children “are more likely to have adverse health outcomes” in May 2020.