“Judge Questions Meta’s Practices in Blacklisting Case Involving Adult Performers”
San Francisco, CA – The California federal judge overseeing claims that Meta blacklists certain adult performers questioned the social media giant’s practice of maintaining its list of dangerous organizations and individuals as a “living document” that is constantly changing and not archived, suggesting the policy appears to destroy evidence and “sounds nefarious.”
U.S. District Judge William Alsup’s comments came during a hearing on Meta Platform Inc.’s motion for summary judgment. Performers Dawn Dangaard, Kelly Gilbert, and Jennifer Allbaugh allege Meta conspired with the subscription site OnlyFans to boost the risqué platform over competitors, causing them to lose revenues and followers on their social media accounts.
The performers claim Meta illegally used its list of dangerous organizations and individuals (DOI) to blacklist them from advertising on Instagram and Facebook after Meta executives allegedly received bribes from OnlyFans executives. Although the lawsuit was initially filed in 2022 as a proposed class action, the plaintiffs asked Judge Alsup to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction in March—a request the judge denied on Wednesday.
