A federal judge on Wednesday denied Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s request for a temporary restraining order to stop YouTube and its parent company Google from censoring him.
U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson of the Northern District of California denied Kennedy’s request because Google and YouTube are private entities, according to the ruling. Additionally, it is not an urgent issue because Kennedy is able to post his content that Google and YouTube censors on other platforms.
“The Court finds that the First Amendment claim is unlikely to succeed on the merits because Google and YouTube are not state actors,” the court document states. “Second, Plaintiff was not, and will not, be irreparably harmed if a temporary restraining order does not issue because he does not demonstrate urgency or that he will not be able to share his videos through other sites and methods.” (RELATED: YouTube Censors Presidential Candidate RFK Jr Interview With Jordan Peterson)
🚨 Robert F Kennedy Jr.’s request for a temporary restraining order against YouTube censorship has been denied.
“The Court finds that the First Amendment claim is unlikely to succeed on the merits because Google and YouTube are not state actors. Second, Plaintiff was not, and… pic.twitter.com/BUdouAqKDS
— Reclaim The Net (@ReclaimTheNetHQ) August 23, 2023
Kennedy alleged Google and YouTube violated his free speech rights by censoring his content, according to a complaint filed on August 2. The presidential candidate asserted that YouTube suppressed him based on government decisions.
“Although it cited its own COVID vaccine misinformation policies when censoring Mr. Kennedy, the policies rely entirely on government officials to decide what information gets censored,” the complaint reads. “They say that YouTube does not allow people to say anything ‘that contradicts local health authorities’ (LHA) or the World Health Organization’s (WHO) medical information about COVID-19.’”
Social media companies began to cease censoring Kennedy since he declared his candidacy for president, but YouTube has persisted in suppressing him, according to the complaint.
“This censorship campaign prevents Mr. Kennedy’s message from reaching millions of voters,” it states. “It also makes it harder for groups that are supporting his campaign to amplify his message through public sources.”
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