Facebook seeks to have discrimination claim by Dublin man ‘addicted to litigation’ thrown out

Facebook owner Meta says a religious discrimination claim by an evangelical Christian over his site ban should be thrown out because it is frivolous – submitting that the complainant is “addicted to litigation”.

In a complaint under the Equal Status Act 2000, north Dublin man Mark J Savage has accused Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd of subjecting him to religious discrimination, victimisation and harassment by blocking his account on October 21st 2021.

Meta’s legal team said on Tuesday that Mr Savage had made 14 posts on the social media site between April 2020 and October 2021 accusing employees of a north Dublin retailer of child sexual abuse which breached its terms of use, hate speech or bullying and harassment policies.

Mr Savage claimed Facebook’s policies were “in line with the woke agenda”.

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The firm’s barrister, Claire Bruton BL appearing instructed by A&L Goodbody, said the Facebook posts were linked to “Mr Savage’s attempts to post certain matters at a [retail] store alleging a [politician] was a sexual offender” in February 2020 and his belief that there were “a number of ‘gay perverts’ at a toilet in [north county Dublin]”.

After staff at the store took down a notice posted by Mr Savage and prevented him putting it back, Mr Savage proceeded to accuse them of child sexual offences, the tribunal heard.

The social media posts were not opened to a preliminary hearing on Wednesday at the Workplace Relations Commission, but Ms Bruton said they included “hate speech” in the form of a “harmful stereotype ... that all homosexual men are gay perverts by virtue of their actions”.

The posts also included “defamatory” statements and had come to her client’s attention when the retailer commenced legal proceedings against Meta, Ms Bruton added.

Counsel said Mr Savage had already brought discrimination complaints against the politician and the retail store which had both been ruled “frivolous and vexatious” by the WRC in separate proceedings.

Lawyers for Meta told the Workplace Relations Commission on Tuesday that by their count, Mr Savage had made 42 previous discrimination complaints and had admitted to a reporter from the Sunday World newspaper in 2021 that he was “addicted” to litigation – calling it “better than heroin”, she said.

“So is going to the gym,” Mr Savage countered, also stating he thought he had only taken around “two dozen” such complaints.

Citing a 2021 ruling against Mr Savage in a prior claim against the retailer, Ms Bruton said the WRC adjudicator in that matter had found that “not the remotest suggestion, even by the complainant that these allegations are true” and that they were “of the most vile and repugnant character”.

“We sought for this complaint to be dismissed without a hearing. My application is for this complaint to be decided on the grounds of it being frivolous and vexatious. Mr Savage’s claim, we say, is an abuse of process,” Ms Bruton said.

Mr Savage said: “I believe this was a child safety issue. My religious belief is bearing witness to truth – highlighting a child safety issue. I bought all these textbooks. I studied them. I even played devil’s advocate to see if there was any hole in my reasoning.

“I exercised my Constitutional right to expression, my freedom of expression in public, as an evangelical Christian,” he said, adding that it was part of his religious expression to “bear witness to truth”.

After swearing an oath, Mr Savage claimed that various parties he had named were “guilty” of offences under the Sexual Offences Act 2017, including a WRC adjudicating officer who had ruled on another of his complaints.

Mr Savage also said he “should have known better” than to make an “offhand comment” about heroin addiction in a doorstep interview, and complained that a reader might be left with the incorrect impression he had used the drug in the past.

“I’m going to adjourn this, without prejudice to any decision ... I’ll consider everything that’s been put to me,” adjudicating officer Roger McGrath said, thanking the parties for their submissions and closing the hearing.