If social media outlaws abusive behavior, why is Brian Sims still there?

Social media bans are a tricky business.

On the one hand, private companies have every right to monitor their platforms for abusive and illegal behavior. By cons, for groups such as Twitter and Facebook, which literally host millions of users, it seems like it would be impossible to apply anti-abuse rules consistently.

And the bans of Facebook and Twitter are causing more and more concern: Silicon Valley is an infamous left and it is already felt that the rules are both vague and subject to partisans prejudice against conservatives.

Take, for example, the representative of the state of Pennsylvania Democratic, Brian Sims. Her Facebook and Twitter accounts are both live, despite her recent attempts on both pro-life women's dox platforms (including teenage girls) because they prayed to protest in front of a family planning clinic in Philadelphia.

Sims shared a video on Twitter this weekend, showing him stalking an old pro-life woman he repeatedly scolded for his "age" and "whiteness". This video, always available on Twitter, also shows him go protest in front of his house and tell him what is best for his body. "His second video, which he first shared on Facebook (she's no longer available), shows him that he's harassing three teenage-aged teenage girls, 13, 15 years old. . , and 15, and encouraging viewers to post their identities and personal information online.

"What we have here is a group of … pseudo-Christian protesters who came here to shame the girls," Sims said in his second video. "I have $ 100 from anyone who will identify these three people and I will donate to Planned Parenthood."

These videos are in flagrant violation of Twitter and Facebook's guidelines on targeted harassment. But no action was taken by both companies.

People have been permanently banned for similar behavior. Milo Yiannopoulos and Robert Stacy McCain were banned by Twitter several years ago. Yiannopoulos was banned in 2016 for encouraging fans to harass comedian Leslie Jones. McCain was banned the same year for "participation in targeted abuse".

On Facebook, Yiannopoulos and Alex Jones and Paul Joseph Watson of Infowars were also banned. The tech company said in a statement last week that it "has always banned individuals or organizations that promote or engage in violence and hatred, regardless of their ideology." of public abuse of teenage girls by Sims.

Still, the Facebook and Twitter accounts of the Sims are still online. Facebook and Twitter spokespersons have not responded to the Washington Examiner request for comment.

It is important to note here that Twitter and Facebook have banned leftist activists. Facebook has permanently launched Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam. Twitter, for its part, banned the account "Smash Racism D.C.", managed by antifa. But that's about all.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that Twitter temporarily suspended developer Victoria Fierce in 2017 for leading obscenities on Vice President Mike Pence. This makes it even more confusing for Sims' continued presence on Twitter, given that he tweeted this on June 19, 2018:

The difference in the application of the rules between Fierce and Sims is confusing. This is also consistent with the theory that bans are applied unevenly because it is a huge undertaking that has far exceeded the limited number of options available on Facebook and Twitter. Political prejudices certainly play a role in the permanent ban on accounts, but it is also not clear without any reasonable doubt that this is part of a larger and darker campaign led by tech giants to silence the right.