Live Action Urges Twitter To Reconsider Ban On Its Pro-Life Advertising

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorneys for Live Action, a leading pro-life organization, have demanded that Twitter Inc. reverse its discriminatory and unprecedented decision to prohibit the group from advertising on the social-media site.

The Washington Post reported that Twitter refused to allow Live Action to resume advertising unless it deleted content from its own website – content that is at the core of its message.

Many of the same ads blocked by Twitter have appeared on Facebook and other popular social media sites, The Post reported.

Lila Rose, the founder and president of Live Action, said Twitter's ban is unfair and shows extreme bias, considering that the group for many years has accepted advertising from Planned Parenthood, which receives most of its funding from the federal government and commits more than 328,000 abortions a year.

"This wasn't about a single issue with one ad. This was about the entirety of our pro-life message, from ultrasound images of life in the womb to criticism of abortion facilities," Ms. Rose told the Washington Post.

"Twitter's self-stated purpose is to 'give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers,'" said Rose, quoting the company's mission statement. "They are completely violating that."

"Twitter should lift the ban, or be honest with the public and their users: There are certain messages they don't agree with that they won't run."

Most troubling, Live Action attorney Patricia L. Glaser said, was a demand by Twitter that Live Action remove "sensitive" content from the nonprofit group's own website before it could apply to have its advertising privileges reinstated. Among the content that Twitter objected to was a petition calling for a ban against federal funding of Planned Parenthood, the nation's leading abortion provider.

"Twitter's decision to condition any resumption in Live Action's advertising on the restriction of content posted on Live Action's own website runs afoul of Twitter's own express policies, in addition to certain precepts of California and federal law," Ms. Glaser said in a letter to Twitter.

When Live Action sought an explanation about the advertising ban, a Twitter executive said in a May 2017 email that the group must "remove current and past sensitive content from your website" in order to regain its advertising privileges.

In an email explaining its position, Twitter directed Live Action to a link that addressed "hateful content in advertising."

"Needless to say, Live Action expressly disputes that any aspect of its life-affirming message or news coverage is hateful," Ms. Glaser said.

Live Action, through its attorneys, urged Twitter to lift the ban and allow the organization to promptly resume its advertising.

About Live Action

Live Action is a 501c(3) human rights nonprofit dedicated to ending abortion and inspiring a culture that respects and protects life. Live Action's groundbreaking news coverage and compelling videos reach several million people weekly, with millions of supporters and volunteers throughout the United States. Join the movement at liveaction.org

SOURCE Live Action