The computer repair shop owner who started the controversy surrounding Hunter Biden’s laptop has sued Twitter for defamation. He alleged that Twitter caused him to be falsely labeled as a “hacker.”
Twitter Gets Slammed With a Defamation Lawsuit
John Paul Mac Issac, the owner of a Delaware-based computer repair shop, filed a defamation lawsuit against Twitter for $500 million.
Mac Isaac was the previously-unknown source cited in the New York Post’s article about Hunter Biden’s laptop. The article, which was published right before the 2020 US election, contained incriminating allegations about the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop. Many fact-checkers questioned the validity of the report’s claims.
Because of this, Twitter and Facebook quickly restricted the post. While Facebook barred the post for containing potential misinformation, Twitter banned the article for violating its Hacked Materials Policy.
Mac Isaac believes that Twitter has tarnished his reputation. The platform labeled his findings as “hacked materials,” even though Mac Isaac says he was paid to recover the content on Biden’s laptop.
In Mac Isaac’s lawsuit, he states that he’s ”now widely considered a hacker” and also “began to receive negative reviews of his business” due to Twitter’s actions.
Florida District Judge, Beth Bloom, has since dismissed the case due to a technicality. The court document states that the complaint didn’t “allege complete diversity.” Since the case was dismissed “without prejudice” Mac Issac can still file it again after getting the legal technicalities sorted out.
Will Twitter’s Harsh Restrictions on Misinformation Backfire?
Twitter got itself into a pickle after it banned the New York Post’s article from its platform. Although Twitter has since reversed its actions, it goes to show that restrictive measures against potential misinformation aren’t suitable for every situation.
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