An anti-abortion activist from Florida is suing Google, alleging the company violated state law by shutting down her account without even giving her a warning or a 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 memories, only to find it completely empty with no explanation.
Perez-Poveda has now filed a lawsuit in Duval County Circuit Court in hopes of overturning the ban.
The lawsuit is believed to be 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 of why his account had been closed, he received a strange response.
Trudy Perez-Poveda, 76, who has had a Google account since 2012, says the company closed her account without explanation. She is now suing the company.
Perez used her account for a variety of activities, including volunteering with an anti-abortion group called Family For Life. Pictured here is a Jacksonville abortion clinic.
“For security reasons we cannot share the exact policy that was violated,” Google shared.
The lawsuit details how Perez used his account for various activities, including volunteering with a group called Family For Life.
This group is described as “people who pray, counsel, and sometimes celebrate Catholic Masses and Eucharistic processions near abortion clinics.”
Last September, Perez sent an email to group members 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 communicated several times with Google, who had initially mentioned the possibility of restoring his service.
He was eventually told his account had been permanently disabled for violating the company’s acceptable use policy.
Perez has sparked controversy in the past for her anti-abortion stance. In 2021, a patient at A Woman’s Choice pushed her to the ground after taking a photo of her without permission.
“It was like coming home to a house that took me twelve years to furnish with family memories and treasures, only to find it completely empty without even a note explaining why,” Perez said in her lawsuit.
When Perez asked for details about the violation, he came no closer to uncovering what policy he may have violated that led to his closure.
Perez considers herself a victim of censorship and now receives legal advice from the Thomas More Society, a firm known for handling issues related to abortion.
Matt Heffron, who serves as a senior adviser to the Thomas More Society, says he is concerned about what appears to be a growing trend toward censorship in the United States.
“There is an ominous growth of censorship in this country,” said Matt Heffron, senior adviser at Thomas More. Jacksonville.com.
“The big 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 necessary response to this rising tide of censorship,” Heffron said.
“No one should be treated the way Google treated Trudy Perez.”
Heffron notes that while Google has not explained or suggested that its actions were directly related to abortion or religious issues, it is a reasonable assumption given the context.
Heffron also says the company is obligated to provide an explanation for Perez’s suspension. Google has not responded to requests for comment on the lawsuit.
Meanwhile, Perez has generated controversy in the past with his anti-abortion stance.
A 19-year-old patient of A Woman’s Choice pushed her to the ground in 2021 after taking a photo of her without permission.
The teenager was charged with assault on a person over 65 years of age after the incident.