On March 19, the Liberty Justice Center issued a letter to Meta Platforms’ Chief Legal Officer on behalf of the Chino Valley Unified School District’s President, Sonja Shaw, demanding that Meta provide an explanation for a public statement falsely accusing Shaw of child sexual abuse.
Recently, members of the public who searched for Shaw’s name on the Meta-owned platforms Instagram and Facebook received a warning message. In that message—included here within the Liberty Justice Center’s demand letter—Meta stated, “We think that your search might be associated with child sexual abuse” and warned that “searching for such material” can lead to imprisonment and other severe punishments.
While Meta has since taken corrective action by removing the false public message, the company did not provide an explanation for how the statement targeting Shaw was first published. Meta also did not issue an apology for falsely implying to the public that Shaw herself had been associated with child abuse.
The Liberty Justice Center’s letter requires Meta to provide an explanation—as well as written assurance that Meta and its employees will not target Shaw with another false statement in the future—by 5 P.M. Pacific on Thursday, March 21, 2024.
“It is egregious that Meta would publicly display such a vile and clearly false accusation with no proof or cause. Removing the message is a start, but it is by no means the end of the matter. We look forward to reviewing Meta’s written explanation of its actions come Thursday,” said Buck Dougherty, Senior Counsel at the Liberty Justice Center.
“What is additionally troubling about Meta’s false publication is that it appears to be calculated to retaliate against Ms. Shaw for her outspoken support and advocacy on behalf of parental rights in pending litigation by the California Attorney General against the Chino Valley Unified School District,” Dougherty added.
A copy of the letter filed by the Liberty Justice Center is available here.
The Liberty Justice Center is representing Sonja Shaw in her capacity as President of the Chino Valley Unified School District through the case California v. Chino Valley Unified School District. The court filings in the case are available here.