The computer repair shop owner who gained notoriety based on Hunter Biden’s laptop is suing Twitter.
John Paul Mac Isaac filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in South Florida, alleging that he was forced to close The Mac Shop, his Delaware computer store, due to threats and negative reviews after Twitter labeled a New York Post article in which he was featured as hacked content.
“Social media is so powerful that they really can influence the way people receive information and it's not just social media,” said Brian R. Della Rocca, Isaac’s attorney. “It's the media itself. They can sway the way we hear information. It's a huge problem that we have right now and it's something that needs to be figured out or people will continue to hear only what the news media or social media wants them to hear.”
Among the exhibits attached to the complaint is an email that Isaac received from a loyal customer who said she would never come back to the store.
“Yelp reviews started coming in that were essentially calling him a hacker and part of a Russian disinformation campaign,” Della Rocca told the Florida Record. “He started getting phone calls at his business with death threats to harm him and telling him to get out of town.”
The embattled computer repair shop owner has since relocated and is changing his profession.
“He's figured out what he wants to do next," Della Rocca said. "He's enrolled in community college and is pursuing a new avenue because he won't be able to get work as a Mac engineer or repair shop person because of that label."
The label that Twitter attributed to the New York Post article stated, “We don't permit the use of our services to directly distribute content obtained through hacking that contains private information may put people in physical harm or danger or contain trade secrets.”
However, Della Rocca claims the information that his client brought to light was not hacked.
“Ownership had transferred to my client because the laptop had never been claimed,” he said. “The claim period is 90 days after completion of the project and Hunter Biden never returned.”
Della Rocca added that he is confident Isaac will find justice through the legal system.
“Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in his congressional testimony in response to questioning from Senator Ted Cruz said that they made a mistake,” he said. “We’re presenting a lot of evidence and so this will not be easily thrown out. We intend to pursue this to its end."