By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) – Meta Platforms Inc on Tuesday defeated an appeal by Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine group founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., challenging its censorship of Facebook posts that spread misinformation about the effectiveness and safety of vaccines.
In a decision issued Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Pasadena, California, said the nonprofit had not proven that Meta worked with or was coerced by federal officials to suppress views that challenged “government orthodoxy” on vaccines.
Children’s Health Advocacy filed a lawsuit in 2020, saying Meta violated its constitutional rights by labeling “vaccine misinformation” as false, and took away its right to advertise on Facebook.
Meta’s actions included preventing users from sharing claims that COVID-19 vaccines don’t work, and referring viewers of children’s health advocacy posts to the World Health Organization for facts about COVID-19.
Circuit Judge Eric Miller, an appointee of former Republican President Donald Trump, wrote for the appeals court that Meta was a “purely private” company with a First Amendment right not to have its platform used to promote viewpoints it found objectionable.
“Meta clearly believes that vaccines are safe and effective and that their use should be encouraged,” Miller wrote. “It does not lose its right to promote these views simply because the government shares them.”
The court also rejected claims by the Children’s Health Advocacy group against the Poynter Institute and Science Feedback, which helps Meta evaluate the accuracy of content on Facebook.
Kennedy, an independent candidate for US president, helped promote the idea of defending children’s health. Meta removed the group’s accounts from Facebook and Instagram in August 2022.
Children’s Health Advocacy did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Meta and lawyers for the Menlo Park, California-based company did not immediately respond to similar requests.
Circuit Judge Daniel Collins, also a Trump appointee, dissented from Friday’s ruling, saying that Children’s Health Defense could seek an injunction on its free speech claims. He also agreed to dismiss its other claims, including a demand for monetary damages.
Friday’s ruling upheld a ruling issued by U.S. District Judge Susan Elston in San Francisco in June 2021.
The case is Children’s Health Defense, Inc. v. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDA), U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 21-16210.
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