A anti-abortion activist from Florida is suing Google alleging the company violated state law by shutting down her account without so much as a warning or chance to save her photos and information.
Trudy Perez-Poveda, 76, who has had a Google account since 2012, said losing access to her account has been akin to returning to a house filled with cherished family mementos, only to find it completely empty without explanation.
Perez-Poveda has now filed suit in Duval County Circuit Court in the hopes of having the ban reversed.
It’s believed the lawsuit is the first of its kind in Florida following a Supreme Court decision that lifted an injunction blocking the state’s deplatforming law.
When Perez asked for a full explanation as to why her account had been shut down, she was given a bizarre response.
Trudy Perez-Poveda, 76, who has had a Google account since 2012, says the company shut her account down without explanation. She is now suing the company
Perez used her account for various activities, including her volunteer work with a an anti-abortion group called Family For Life. Pictured a Jacksonville abortion clinic
‘Due to security reasons we are unable to share the exact policy which was violated,’ Google shared.
The lawsuit details how Perez used her account for various activities, including her volunteer work with a group called Family For Life.
This group is described as being for ‘persons who pray, counsel and sometimes hold Catholic Mass and Eucharistic processions near abortion clinics.’
Last September, Perez emailed members of the group about a planned Mass outside a Jacksonville abortion clinic, A Woman’s Choice.
Within an hour she received a note from Google informing her that her account had been suspended without explanation.
Over the course of ten days Perez went back and forth communicating with Google who had initially mentioned the possibility of restoring her service.
Ultimately she was told her account had been permanently disabled for violating the company’s acceptable use policy.
Trudy Perez-Poveda received an email from Google telling her account had been suspended
Google were unable to share the exact reason why her account was suspended
Perez has courted controversy in the past with her anti-abortion stance. She was shoved to the ground by a patient of A Woman’s Choice in 2021 after taking her photo without permission
‘It felt like coming home to a house, which took me twelve years to furnish with family mementos and treasures, and find[ing] it completely empty without even a note explaining why,’ Perez stated in her lawsuit.
When Perez asked for specifics about the violation, she was no closer to finding out what policy she may have violated that led to her being shut down.
Perez believed that she is a victim of censorship and is now receiving legal counsel from the Thomas More Society, a firm known for handling issues related to abortion.
Matt Heffron who works as senior counsel at the Thomas More Society says he is concerned over what appears to be a growing trend of censorship in the U.S.
‘There is an ominous growth of censorship in this country,’ Matt Heffron, senior counsel at Thomas More, said to Jacksonville.com.
‘Large social-media companies act as a ‘digital public square,’ and play a central role in the debate of ideas. Our case … is part of the urgent and overdue pushback against this rising tide of censorship,’ Heffron explained.
‘Nobody should be treated the way Google treated Trudy Perez.’
Heffron notes that although Google has not explained itself or suggested its actions were directly related to abortion or religious issues, it is a reasonable assumption given the context.
Heffron also says the company is required to give an explanation for is suspension of Perez. So far, Google has not responded to requests for comment on the lawsuit.
Perez, meanwhile, has courted controversy in the past with her anti-abortion stance.
She was shoved to the ground by a 19-year-old patient of A Woman’s Choice in 2021 after taking her photo without permission.
The teen was charged with battery on a person over 65 following the incident.