Torts

California Court of Appeals Holds Social Networking Sites Immune from Civil Suits Arising Out of Sexual Assultof Minor User

August 4th, 2009 |

A California Court of Appeals recently held that social networking sites such as MySpace or Facebook are immune from civil liability. In the case of Doe v. MySpace, Inc. (filed June 30, 2009, Second District, Div. Eight,Cite as B205643O), the California Appellate Court, Second District, ruled that the social networking website could not held liable when a minor is sexually assaulted by an adult she met on its social networking website.

This decision is based on the Federal Communications Decency Act (47 U.S.C. § 230) which holds provides that it is the policy of the United States to promote the development of the internet and of interactive computer services and to preserve the “vibrant and competitive” free market which exists on the internet. To that end, the law provides immunity from civil liability to internet providers who make content or information from third parties available on their site. In order to take advantage of this immunity the MySpace, the social networking site in question, must estable three elements: 1) that the MySpace was in “interactive computer service provider”, 2) that MySpace did not provide information content, and that 3) the plaintiff (party seeking relief) was attempting to hold MySpace liable for information from a third party user of the social networking site.

In Doe v. MySpace, Inc., several teenaged girls between the ages of 13 and 15 were sexually assulted by adult men that they met on MySpace. Although several of the male assultants were criminally prosecuted, the girls and their parents sought civil restitution from the social networking site. The girls and their parents (“the claimants”) claim that MySpace should have done a better job of preventing underage girls from joining the site and should have instituted better safety protocols to prevent the adults from contacting the underage girls.

While the site technically limits its members to individuals who are 14 and over, there is nothing to prevent a member from lying about their age. MySpace issues it users a privacy statement and safety protocols, it also provides parents with similiar information regarding the privacy of their minor children. In addition, MySpace blocks searches of the accounts of members who are under 15. Finally the MySpace Terms of Use Agreement prohibits users from soliciting personal information from members who are younger than 18.

The Appellate Court determined that, in accordance with the Federal Communications Decency Act, MySpace did not act as an “indepent publisher” of information, but rather was limited to providing access to content provided by third party users. Thus, MySpace, and similiar social networking sites, are immune from civil liability arising out of contact made between minor account holders and other adult account holders.

From a public policy standpoint, I think that this decision makes sense. The purpose of the law is to allow as much freedom of speech on the internet as decency allows. To make social networking sites liable for the actions of their users would potentially discourage such sites from continuing to provide open access for those users who use them with only good intentions. And I for one, enjoy being able to contact long lost friends through such sites, and to keep in touch with others who aren’t so long lost, but that I do not see on a daily basis.

Feel free to let me know what you think about this decision!