AUSTIN – The 14th Court of Appeals today dismissed two appeals brought in litigation accusing Facebook of permitting sex traffickers to prey on children to proceed.
Last April, the 14th Court of Appeals determined Facebook had not established that it is entitled to mandamus relief in lawsuits seeking to hold the social media giant liable for damages resulting from being victims of sex trafficking.
The plaintiffs claim social media giants like Facebook have treated children as a commodity, providing predators unrestricted means to prey on victims.
Court records show Facebook moved to dismiss all claims against it as barred by section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act, arguing that the plaintiffs’ claims are “inconsistent with” section 230(c)(1), which says that “[n]o provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.”
On June 25, the Texas Supreme Court allowed the plaintiffs’ statutory human-trafficking claims to proceed, but dismissed their common-law claims for negligence, gross negligence, negligent undertaking, and products liability.
Earlier this month, Facebook filed unopposed motions to dismiss its appeals over denial of its special appearance, stating that the plaintiffs had moved to non-suit their actions, making the appeal moot, court records show.
The law firm of Hunton Andrews Kurth represents Facebook.