A San Francisco federal judge overseeing a lawsuit from a woman alleging a sex trafficker used Meta Platforms Inc.‘s Instagram app to sell her for sex was challenged by the scope of the tech industry’s federal immunity law at a Tuesday hearing.
Judge Rita F. Lin said differing legal precedents from appeals courts about the powers of Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act left her conflicted about whether that legal shield applies to Meta.
“I’m having a hard time reconciling these cases in some ways,” Lin said of the different rulings.
Section 230, passed by Congress in 1996, immunizes internet platforms from civil lawsuits that stem from actions and content posted by users.
The plaintiff, who goes only by Jane Doe, alleged that Meta has “knowingly created a breeding ground for human trafficking” on Instagram by failing to properly verify the identities of user accounts.
