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Hart v. Facebook, Inc. — U.S. District Court, N.D. Cal., San Francisco

Hart v. Facebook, Inc. — 10 court filings in the archive, mostly from U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, filed between August 31, 2021 and May 9, 2023. Among them: 2 orders and 1 complaint.

Case facts

CourtU.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division (8 filings); U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (1 filing)
Filings10 public filings
Filed2021-08-31 – 2023-05-09
Document typesorders (2), complaint (1)
Original PDFs10 of 10

Case summary

Hart v. Facebook, Inc., No. 3:22-cv-00737 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, was filed in August 2021 by Justin Hart, a California resident, against Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc., President Joseph Biden, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Management and Budget. Hart alleges that between late 2020 and mid-2021 Facebook and Twitter flagged his posts as misinformation about COVID-19 and suspended or locked his accounts, and that this violated the First Amendment because the federal defendants acted jointly with the companies. On May 5, 2022 the court granted the motions to dismiss without leave to amend, and on May 9, 2023 it denied leave to amend the complaint.

Case at a glance

PartiesPlaintiff Justin Hart; defendants Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc., President Joseph Biden, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Management and Budget
Court and docketU.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, No. 3:22-cv-00737-CRB; the page also holds the Southern District of California docket sheet for No. 3:21-cv-01543-W-WVG, where the case began
ProgramNot named in the filings on this page. The subject is social media moderation of COVID-19 posts
ClaimsA First Amendment claim against Facebook and Twitter requiring state action; claims against the federal defendants; claims under the Free Speech Clause of the California Constitution and California contract and tort law; and a Freedom of Information Act claim against HHS and OMB
Disposition or statusDismissed. The order of May 5, 2022 granted the motions to dismiss without leave to amend and declined to reach the anti-SLAPP motions to strike; the order of May 9, 2023 denied leave to amend as futile
Status checked2026-09-23 · against DOJ press releases through 2026-09-22; court docket not yet read

Why were the claims dismissed?

Because Hart's sole federal claim against Facebook and Twitter required alleging state action and the court found he had not done so plausibly, citing Ninth Circuit authority that a private entity hosting speech on the internet is not a state actor. The court declined to exercise jurisdiction over the state-law claims.

What happened to the federal defendants?

The May 9, 2023 order records that the case was dismissed because the complaint failed to state a First Amendment claim against Facebook and Twitter and failed to satisfy the causation and redressability elements of standing over the claims against the federal defendants.

Why was amendment refused?

The court held that Hart's new allegations, drawn from the government's FOIA production, discovery from a similar case and the "Twitter Files", do not support his federal claim, so filing an amended complaint would be futile.

Summary written from the documents on this page; every sentence is sourced.

Filings

10 public filings from this case, in filing-date order.

  1. ComplaintComplaint · PDF
  2. Southern District Docket Sheet (Prior Proceeding)PDF
  3. Federal Defendants’ Motion to DismissPDF
  4. Plaintiff’s Combined Opposition to Motions to DismissPDF
  5. Facebook’s Reply in Support of Motion to Dismiss and Anti-SLAPP Motion — Hart v. Facebook (N.D. Cal.)PDF
  6. Federal Defendants’ Reply in Support of Motion to Dismiss — Hart v. Facebook (N.D. Cal.)PDF
  7. Twitter’s Reply in Support of Anti-SLAPP Motion to Strike —…PDF
  8. Twitter’s Reply in Support of Motion to DismissPDF
  9. Order Granting Motions to DismissOrder · PDF
  10. Order Denying Motion for Leave to Amend the ComplaintOrder · PDF

Court, dates and docket numbers are as recorded on the filings.

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