The Lacuna Project

lacuna (n.) a gap in a record where something should be

Independent research. Not affiliated with any government, agency, or company.

Court

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Findings that rest on exhibits naming this entity

  • INF-4.9: California's Office of Elections Cybersecurity stated that it flagged nearly 300 posts to Facebook and Twitter after the 2020 election and that 98 percent were promptly removed for violating the platforms' community standards. The Ninth Circuit held in 2023 that Twitter's compliance with such a flag was optional, and held in 2024 that the content-category reporting provisions of California's AB 587 likely violate the First Amendment.
  • INF-4.13: The 2026 consent decree in Missouri v. Biden bars the Surgeon General, the CDC and CISA from threatening platforms with punishment unless they remove or reduce protected speech, and records no admission (para. 17). The Ninth Circuit held in O'Handley (2023) that compliance with a California office's flag was optional for Twitter, with no intimation of adverse consequences, and that Twitter's moderation was not state action. Twitter's 2023 brief in Trump v. Twitter, a litigation position, argues that coercion requires the threat of a government sanction and that the FBI's emails were advisory.
  • INF-5.15: On 9 August 2024 the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Children's Health Defense's suit against Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, the Poynter Institute and Science Feedback, holding that the alleged harm came from Meta's own policy and that Children's Health Defense alleged no government coercion or agreement. The opinion recites that Meta disabled the group's donate button and barred its ads because it "repeatedly posted content that has been disputed by third-party fact-checkers."

Exhibits naming this entity

  • Exhibit 1085 9 August 2024. United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit: Children's Health Defense v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 21-16210 (9th Cir. Aug. 9, 2024)
  • Exhibit 1121 10 March 2023. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit: O'Handley v. Weber, 62 F.4th 1145 (9th Cir. 2023), No. 22-15071
  • Exhibit 1127 4 September 2024. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Judge M. Smith): X Corp. v. Bonta, No. 24-271 (9th Cir.) (California Assembly Bill 587)