USA: In what is hopefully the first step in a long road of accountability for the big tech giants, the Texas Supreme Court ruled on Friday that Facebook can be held liable if sex traffickers use the platform to target children.
The court said that Facebook is “not a lawless no-man’s-land” and that it could be held accountable after 3 lawsuits that involved teenage sex trafficking victims, Fox News reported.
The victims in the lawsuits were reportedly preyed on through the social media platform, which caused prosecutors to allege that the site was negligent in not blocking sex trafficking.
Facebook, as it does, tried to hide behind Section 230, which says that online platforms aren’t responsible for third party content.
But the court disagreed, stating: “Holding internet platforms accountable for words or actions of their users is one thing, and the federal precedent uniformly dictates that section 230 does not allow it. Holding internet platforms accountable for their own misdeeds is quite another thing. This is particularly the case for human trafficking.”
Facebook told Fox News: “We’re reviewing the decision and considering potential next steps. Sex trafficking is abhorrent and not allowed on Facebook. We will continue our fight against the spread of this content and the predators who engage in it.”
by Tyler Durden
