by Joshua Tyler
| Published
Over the past few months, I've been working on a report on the current state of Google search results, with the goal of helping independent publishers better understand what's happening. Last month, Valnet (the large media company that owns sites like Screen Rant, Game Rant, Collider, Comic Book Resources, The Gamer, Open Critic, Dual Shockers, and many others) started issuing legal threats demanding that I remove My previous reports On their company and its position in Google search results.
It could be Valnet's initial message asking me to be silent Read in full here.
I responded to those threats by telling them that I would not abide by them. You can read my full response here.
In light of my refusal to waive my constitutionally protected First Amendment rights, Valnet's legal board informed me that they would “WatchingAll my articles and social media posts Other public activitiesWhat exactly these “general activities” were was not made clear in their communications.
Miranda Ciavaglia
If I wanted Valent to stop “surveilling” me, I would have to delete my previous references to their company and avoid doing them again in the future.
Here are two examples of X posts I've made that Valnet is asking to be removed. Many other examples can be found in their full letter, included in this article.
Below you can read the full text of Valnet's letter to my legal board.
