Conversion Therapy Church Cannot Sue Vimeo, Court Rules

Church United cannot sue Vimeo Inc. for having its account deleted after promoting conversion therapy, a federal appeals court in New York ruled, according to Bloomberg.

James Domen, president and founder of Church United and ex-gay, said Vimeo, a video-hosting platform, discriminated against the congregation on the basis of their religious and heteronormative beliefs. The church joined Vimeo in October 2016 and began uploading videos promoting the problematic and psychologically harmful practice of reparative therapy – attempts to "convert" LGBTQ people into heterosexual cisgender folks through ideologically-based fear and shame. There has been a global call for ending the harmful practice.

In November 2018, Vimeo said Church United must remove the videos, as they violated the terms of the platform. When the church declined, Vimeo deleted their account the next month, saying, the company "does not allow videos that harass, incite hatred, or include discriminatory or defamatory speech."

"Church United's account was deleted in an effort to censor James Domen from speaking about his preferred sexual orientation and his religious beliefs," says the lawsuit, which says Domen spent "three years" as a gay man before changing his mind.

"Because of his desire to pursue his faith in Christianity, he began to identify as a former homosexual," read the documents, which also note he married a woman and sired three children. "Through Church United, he shares his experience with other pastors and helps pastors counsel others that are on their own journey toward a heterosexual identity through a biblical perspective and a Christian worldview."

On Thursday, the Court upheld a ruling dismissing their lawsuit, citing Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a 1996 law that shields tech companies from liability. Circuit Judge Rosemary Pooler wrote on behalf of the three-judge panel that "Vimeo is free to restrict access to material that, in good faith, it finds objectionable."

Of course, Section 230 has been roundly criticized by conservatives for allegedly limiting their rights to free speech. On the other side of the coin, those on the left side of the aisle have contended the law allows tech companies to profit while doing little about curbing hate speech and, as Bloomberg points out, conspiracy theories. Popular social media platform TikTok bans anti-LGBTQ and pro-conversion therapy content.

Recently, the far-right social media platform Parler – where a number of insurrectionist coordinated to attack the U.S. Capital on January 6 – was booted from Amazon and Apple. When Parler attempted to sue, both companies claimed protections under Section 230.