The Quebec Superior Court has approved a class action lawsuit against streaming platform YouTube for censoring free speech during the COVID-19 pandemic. Primary plaintiff Éloïse Boies, host of Élo Wants to Know podcast, had three of her videos removed by the platform due to allegedly violating YouTube’s medical “misinformation” policies. According to Reclaim the Net, Boise in February said YouTube not only removed her content, but also branded her an “antivaxxer” and a “conspiracy theorist.” The smearing caused her to lose contracts, she said. Quebec Superior Court Judge Lukasz Granosik in announcing his ruling declared freedom of expression “does not only mean freedom of speech, but also freedom of publication and freedom of creation.”Covered in the lawsuit are accusations YouTube censored videos discussing the origin of the virus, vaccines, and government responses to the pandemic including mandates and, ironically, censorship. During the pandemic-era — and beyond — people who posted contrary to guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO) and local governments and health officials have often had their video flagged, demonetized, or removed altogether. Boise claims the Google-owned platform’s intentional censorship of free speech violated the law and cites the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. The suit covers any party in Quebec censured by the platform as well as anyone who was prevented from accessing related videos from mid-March until present. People can still sign on for the suit.The judge’s ruling ordered Google to desist from its censuring content contradictory to the official narrative put forth by the WHO and governments. Google also was ordered to pay $1,000 in compensation and $1,000 in punitive damages to each plaintiff. It was also ordered to pay “additional compensation provided for by law since the filing of the request for authorization to take collective action, as per the court’s decision.”Future hearings will determine how people who were blocked from accessing such content will be compensated for damages. But Google may never pay up.Google asserts it’s under no obligation to respect the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, Reclaim the Net reported. Therefore, it is not to be held accountable to Canadians for censorship decisions or be obligated to platform videos, “regardless of their content.”“If (Google) carries out censorship by preventing certain people from posting videos and prevents other people from viewing these same videos, it thus hinders the free circulation of ideas and exposes itself to having to defend its ways of doing things,” said Granosik.
The Quebec Superior Court has approved a class action lawsuit against streaming platform YouTube for censoring free speech during the COVID-19 pandemic. Primary plaintiff Éloïse Boies, host of Élo Wants to Know podcast, had three of her videos removed by the platform due to allegedly violating YouTube’s medical “misinformation” policies. According to Reclaim the Net, Boise in February said YouTube not only removed her content, but also branded her an “antivaxxer” and a “conspiracy theorist.” The smearing caused her to lose contracts, she said. Quebec Superior Court Judge Lukasz Granosik in announcing his ruling declared freedom of expression “does not only mean freedom of speech, but also freedom of publication and freedom of creation.”Covered in the lawsuit are accusations YouTube censored videos discussing the origin of the virus, vaccines, and government responses to the pandemic including mandates and, ironically, censorship. During the pandemic-era — and beyond — people who posted contrary to guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO) and local governments and health officials have often had their video flagged, demonetized, or removed altogether. Boise claims the Google-owned platform’s intentional censorship of free speech violated the law and cites the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. The suit covers any party in Quebec censured by the platform as well as anyone who was prevented from accessing related videos from mid-March until present. People can still sign on for the suit.The judge’s ruling ordered Google to desist from its censuring content contradictory to the official narrative put forth by the WHO and governments. Google also was ordered to pay $1,000 in compensation and $1,000 in punitive damages to each plaintiff. It was also ordered to pay “additional compensation provided for by law since the filing of the request for authorization to take collective action, as per the court’s decision.”Future hearings will determine how people who were blocked from accessing such content will be compensated for damages. But Google may never pay up.Google asserts it’s under no obligation to respect the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, Reclaim the Net reported. Therefore, it is not to be held accountable to Canadians for censorship decisions or be obligated to platform videos, “regardless of their content.”“If (Google) carries out censorship by preventing certain people from posting videos and prevents other people from viewing these same videos, it thus hinders the free circulation of ideas and exposes itself to having to defend its ways of doing things,” said Granosik.
