Husband and wife lawyers Jared and Elizabeth Lee Beck have filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Twitter, claiming they are eligible for reinstatement to the social media platform based on a tweet by Elon Musk. The lawsuit was filed through the couple’s company, Don’t Tread On Us, in January 2023 and was removed to federal court in Miami on March 9.
The lawsuit argues that the tweet by Musk on November 24, 2022, in which he offered “a general amnesty to suspended accounts, provided that they have not broken the law or engaged in egregious spam,” changed the terms of Twitter’s user agreement. The Becks were kicked off Twitter in 2019 after Jared Beck made derogatory comments about Kamala Harris when she was a presidential candidate.
The Becks have had run-ins with the Democratic National Committee and Donald Trump. Their law firm sued the Democratic National Committee in 2016, alleging that it favored the Hillary Clinton campaign while undermining Bernie Sanders. The lawsuit was dismissed on standing grounds, but it “inspired a vigorous social media discourse” and was vital to their cause, the Becks say in their Twitter lawsuit.
The Becks also represented real estate investors suing over the abandoned Trump International Hotel & Tower project in Fort Lauderdale. The litigation gained media attention in 2016 due to Elizabeth Lee Beck’s claim that Trump called her disgusting when she sought a break to pump breast milk during his 2011 deposition.
Twitter seeks to transfer the suit to the US District Court in the Northern District of California. The social media platform contends in a motion to dismiss filed on March 15 that its only contract is the user agreement, which allows suspension for any reason and does not require reinstatement. The company also claims that it is protected by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which bars claims for traditional editorial functions such as the decision to remove third-party content.
The Becks, who supported Bernie Sanders in 2016, met in 2003 as summer associates at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. They are now civil litigators in Miami at their law firm, Beck & Lee Trial Lawyers.
The case has gained media attention due to its high-profile plaintiffs and the involvement of Elon Musk. However, legal experts are skeptical about the prospects of the lawsuit succeeding, given Twitter’s broad discretion to enforce its user agreement and the protection afforded social media platforms by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
The case also raises broader questions about the power of social media platforms and the ability of users to challenge decisions to suspend or ban accounts. While platforms like Twitter have policies to govern content moderation, these policies are often opaque and subject to change. Critics argue that there is a lack of transparency and accountability in making decisions, leaving users with limited recourse to challenge them.
Overall, the Becks’ lawsuit against Twitter will likely be an uphill battle, given the legal protections afforded to social media platforms and their broad discretion to enforce their user agreements. However, the case highlights broader concerns about the power of these platforms and the need for greater transparency and accountability in their content moderation policies.