WASHINGTON — Republican Rep. Devin Nunes of California is suing Twitter and several of its users for more than $250 million, accusing them of defamation and negligence.
The defendants include two anonymous parody accounts, "Devin Nunes' Mom" and "Devin Nunes' Cow."
The suit filed in Virginia accuses Twitter of "knowingly hosting and monetizing content that is clearly abusive, hateful and defamatory."
Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act provides internet services with immunity from liability for material posted by their users.
Nunes' suit also accuses Twitter of censoring "viewpoints with which it disagrees" and "shadow-banning conservatives."
Shadow banning allows users to post freely — but no one else sees their messages. Twitter has denied doing it, although some political conservatives — including President Donald Trump — remain unconvinced.
When asked about the lawsuit during a White House press conference with Brazil's president, Jair Bolsonaro, Trump said "something needs to be done" and that his administration needs to "look at the networks."