Photographer: Brent Lewin / Bloomberg
Photographer: Brent Lewin / Bloomberg
A former US ambassador wants Google to do what Teller did to Parler.
Marc Ginsberg sued Alphabet Inc. filed a lawsuit in California on Monday seeking his removal The Telegram Messenger app in the Google Play Store, because it facilitates violence, extremism and anti-Semitism.
The telegram, especially after the assassination of George Floyd and the inauguration of Joe Biden as president, was used to threaten, encourage and coordinate racist violence, says Ginsberg, who was Bill Clinton’s ambassador to Morocco. He pointed out that after the January 6 riot in the US Chapter, Google suspended I speak from his app store, as a number of right-wing users have expressed support for the siege and further violence.
“Google has not taken any action against Telegram comparable to the action it has taken against Parler to force Telegram to improve its content moderation policies,” says the Ginsberg lawsuit. He filed a similar complaint on January 17 against Apple Inc., which removed Parler from the app store after the riot.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for feedback via email. Also, Telegram did not immediately respond to an email requesting comments. Pavel Durov, the founder of the Telegram, said last week that the company’s moderators had eliminated hundreds of posts following the Capitol uprising and that calls for violence would not be tolerated.
“Talking refugees”
Amazon.com Inc. he mentioned his own concerns about the violent content on Parler when he pulled the plug on the platform’s web hosting service. Actions taken against Parler, as well as a ban on former President Donald Trump and others Twitter Inc. and Facebook Inc. stimulated a broad debate on the control and responsibilities of the technology industry over speech.
A channel on the Telegram is dedicated to “Parler refugees”. Some Telegram users have urged supporters to drop plans for a second protest in Washington in support of Trump in favor of nationwide surprise attacks, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also accuses Telegram of serving as a platform for the sale of illegal and controlled substances, including LSD and cocaine.
Ginsberg, who is Jewish and raised in Israel, says in the trial that he was the target of two assassination attempts because of his religious beliefs. His Coalition for a Safe Web, also listed as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, says he is pushing social media platforms to end their tolerance of anti-Semitism and activism of extremist groups.
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(Updates with a similar lawsuit against Apple in the fourth paragraph.)