A Florida anti-abortion activist is suing Google, alleging the company violated state law by terminating her account without warning her or giving her a chance to save her photos and information.
Trudy Perez-Poveda, 76, who has had a Google account since 2012, says losing access to her account is like returning to a house full of cherished family memories only to find it completely empty, with no explanation.
Perez-Poveda has since filed a lawsuit in Duval County Superior Court in hopes of having the ban overturned.
The lawsuit is believed to be the first of its kind in Florida, after the Supreme Court issued a ruling lifting an injunction blocking the state’s anti-deplatforming law.
When Perez asked for a full explanation as to why her account was closed, she received a strange response.
Trudy Perez-Poveda, 76, who has had a Google account since 2012, says the company shut down her account without explanation. She is now suing the company
Perez used her account for various activities, including volunteering with an anti-abortion group called Family For Life. Pictured is an abortion clinic in Jacksonville
“For security reasons, we can’t disclose exactly which policies were violated,” Google said.
The lawsuit details how Perez used her account for various activities, including volunteering for a group called Family For Life.
This group is described as “for people who pray, give advice and sometimes hold Catholic masses and Eucharistic processions near abortion clinics.”
Last September, Perez emailed members of the group A Woman’s Choice about a planned mass at a Jacksonville abortion clinic.
Within an hour, she received a message from Google stating that her account had been suspended without reason.
For ten days, Perez communicated back and forth with Google, which initially raised the possibility of restoring her service.
Ultimately, she was told that her account had been permanently disabled because it violated the company’s acceptable use policy.
Perez has stirred up controversy in the past for her anti-abortion stance. In 2021, she was pushed to the ground by a patient at A Woman’s Choice after she took a photo of her without consent
‘It felt like I was coming home to a house that I had spent twelve years furnishing with family memories and treasures, and I found it[ing] “It was completely empty, with no note whatsoever saying why,” Perez said in her lawsuit.
When Perez asked for specific details about the violation, she got no closer to identifying the policy that may have been violated that led to her being closed.
Perez is convinced she is a victim of censorship and is now getting legal advice from the Thomas More Society, a law firm known for handling abortion cases.
Matt Heffron, who serves as senior counsel at the Thomas More Society, says he is concerned about what appears to be a growing trend of censorship in the U.S.
“There is a growing threat of censorship in this country,” Matt Heffron, senior counsel at Thomas More, told Jacksonville.com.
“Major social media companies serve as a ‘digital public square,’ playing a central role in the debate over ideas. Our case … is part of the urgent and long-overdue response to this rising tide of censorship,” Heffron explained.
“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 needs to provide an explanation for Perez’s suspension. Google has not responded to requests for comment on the lawsuit.
Perez has stirred controversy in the past for her anti-abortion stance.
She was pushed to the ground by a 19-year-old patient at A Woman’s Choice in 2021 after taking a photo of her without consent.
The teenager was charged with assault on a person over the age of 65 following the incident.