TikTok and Meta each facing $50 million emotional distress lawsuit from Andrew Tate

To begin his ignoble crusade, Tate—who faces rape and sex-trafficking charges in Romania and the U.K. and a criminal investigation in the U.S.—has officially filed suits against Meta and TikTok for “emotional distress, business interference, and misappropriation” (per Deadline). “This case arises from Defendant, TikTok, Inc.’s unlawful and politically motivated decision to deplatform Plaintiffs Andrew Tate and Tristan Tate—two internationally known entrepreneurs, commentators, and media personalities—from the TikTok social media platform,” the filing reads. “At the time, the Plaintiffs collectively commanded an audience of tens of millions, generated significant revenue through lawful online enterprises, and were among the most visible public figures on TikTok’s platform.”

The Tates were booted off both platforms in 2022 (they’d been kicked off of Twitter even earlier, but were allowed back on by Elon Musk). At the time, Meta confirmed to NPR “that Tate had been banned from its platforms for violating its policies regarding dangerous individuals and organizations and hate speech.” Similarly, a spokesperson for TikTok told the outlet, “Misogyny is a hateful ideology that is not tolerated on TikTok. Our investigation into this content is ongoing, as we continue to remove violative accounts and videos, and pursue measures to strengthen our enforcement, including our detection models, against this type of content.”

Undeterred, Tate seeks over $50 million from each tech company for his troubles. “TikTok’s removal of the Plaintiffs was not an isolated enforcement action grounded in neutral application of its Terms of Use, rather, it was the culmination of a coordinated campaign to suppress, silence, and destroy the reputations and livelihoods of two controversial but [law abiding] men,” the suit reads. Last week, Tate also filed a countersuit against his ex-girlfriend regarding her allegations that he sexually assaulted her earlier this year at  Beverly Hills hotel, per Deadline. That suit claims her “smear campaign” resulted in Tate losing “sponsorships, cancelled business deals and irreversible damage to his global reputation.”