9th Circuit Sides With Reddit in Section 230 Case Involving Child Porn
Victims suing Reddit for allegedly profiting from child porn failed to plead that the website “knowingly benefited” from facilitating sex trafficking, the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled this week, citing Reddit’s immunity under Communications Decency Act Section 230.
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Reddit users circulated child porn on various subreddit groups on the social media platform, according to filings. The victims, referred to as six Jane Does in the case, and their parents sued Reddit in 2021, claiming the website benefited from openly hosting child porn and enabling child sex trafficking. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California dismissed the case, finding Section 230 shields Reddit from liability. The district court granted Reddit’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim.
Civil plaintiffs seeking to overcome Section 230 immunity for sex-trafficking claims “must plead and prove that a defendant-website’s own conduct” violated the 2018 Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers and Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking acts (SESTA-FOSTA). The plaintiffs didn’t plead Reddit “knowingly benefited from knowingly facilitating sex trafficking,” a three-judge panel for the 9th Circuit said, affirming the district court’s decision. Judge Milan Smith issued the decision. He heard the case with Circuit Judge Ryan Nelson and District Judge Gershwin Drain. Nelson issued a statement concurring in part, noting that FOSTA’s language is clear about whose conduct triggers Section 230 exceptions.
“Interactive computer services” like Reddit generally enjoy immunity from liability under Section 230, but SESTA-FOSTA established that immunity doesn’t apply to child sex trafficking claims if the conduct underlying the claim also violates the criminal child sex trafficking statute. The district court found that FOSTA allows an exemption to the immunity only if the plaintiff can prove the website’s conduct, not that of its users, violated the law. The 9th Circuit panel agreed the plaintiffs in this case “failed to state a sex trafficking claim.”
The plaintiffs focused on claims that child porn is rampant on Reddit, arguing the platform does little to remove the unlawful content or prevent it from being posted because it drives user traffic and revenue. They said advocates have repeatedly called the infracting subreddits to Reddit’s attention. The plaintiffs claimed the website collects “substantial” ad revenue because the subreddits attract a lot of users: “Third-party advertising tools have listed several subreddits dedicated to child pornography as some of the most popular pages on the platform.” Reddit didn’t comment. Attorneys for the plaintiffs didn’t comment.