Nunes Can't Sue Twitter for Defamation, Says Judge

By John Eggerton
published

A Henrico County, Va., judge has ruled that Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) cannot sue Twitter over comments delivered via its platform because it is protected by Sec. 230. 

That is according to a report in the Fresno Bee. 

Related: Nunes Says Media Are Democratic Puppets 'Smearing and Libeling' 

Nunes had sued Twitter and some parody accounts that had hurled insults at him for defamation. The judge ruled that Twitter was immune from the suit because of Sec. 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which provides social media and other web sites immunity from civil liability--like Nunes' defamation suit--over their handling of third party content on their sites. 

Currently both Democrats and Republicans in Congress and the Republican in the White House are contemplating whether tech giants should still get that liability exemption. 

John Eggerton
John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.