Facebook Could Be Held Liable For S*x Trafficking On Its Platform, Texas Supreme Court Rules

Paving the way for tech companies to be held liable when
they’re used for criminal activity

[Huffingtonpost] Texas’ highest court has ruled that Facebook
can be held liable for sex trafficking carried out on its social
media platforms, after several victims accused the company of
knowingly benefiting from its online facilitation.

Friday’s ruling by the state’s Supreme Court allows three civil
lawsuits by trafficking victims to proceed against the social media
giant, after the court determined that current laws do not permit
Facebook, or any other website, to act as a “lawless
no-man’s-land,” the Houston Chronicle first reported.

The victims have accused Facebook of violating a state
anti-trafficking law passed in 2009 ― Chapter 98 of the Texas Civil
Practice and Remedies Code ― that makes a defendant who traffics a
person, or who intentionally or knowingly benefits from the act,
liable to the victim.

Facebook in February requested that the court dismiss the
lawsuits, which were filed by three women who said that as
teenagers they were pulled into the sex trade by pimps using the
company’s social media platforms.

In one of the cases reported by the Chronicle, the victim said
she was 14 years old when she was contacted by a man on Instagram,
which is owned by Facebook. She said the man ended up raping her
and advertising her as a prostitute on Instagram. After the girl
was rescued from the operation, her Instagram profile continued to
be used to lure in other minors. The victim’s mother said she
reported what happened to Facebook but the company never
responded.

The plaintiffs accuse Facebook of “creating a breeding ground
for sex traffickers to stalk and entrap survivors.” Instead of
implementing safeguards that would require verification of users’
identities and being more selective with its advertising, the
company is accused of choosing to increase its profit margins.

Facebook argued that Section 230 of the federal Communications
Decency Act, passed in 1996, protects online service providers from
liability for content published by its users, as well as liability
for regulating it.

However, the Texas justices dismissed that blanket defense on
Friday, arguing that Facebook played a role in facilitating the
illicit behavior. It also noted that in 2018, Congress amended
Section 230 so that civil liability could be imposed on websites
that violate state and federal human trafficking laws.

“We do not understand Section 230 to ‘create a lawless
no-man’s-land on the Internet’ in which states are powerless to
impose liability on websites that knowingly or intentionally
participate in the evil of online human trafficking,” the justices
said in their majority opinion. “Holding internet platforms
accountable for the 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 said it is considering its next steps.

“Sex trafficking is abhorrent and not allowed on Facebook,” a
spokesperson told HuffPost in a statement. “We will continue our
fight against the spread of this content and the predators who
engage in it.”

A lawyer for one of the victims suing Facebook said their work
doesn’t stop here.

“Our clients have fought for over two years for the chance to
bring their case,” attorney Annie McAdams said in a statement.
“While we have a long road ahead, we are grateful that the Texas
Supreme Court will allow these courageous trafficking survivors to
have their day in court against Facebook. With the help of Chapter
98 protection, we believe trafficking survivors in Texas can expose
and hold accountable businesses such as Facebook that benefit from
these crimes of exploitation.”

Since 2013, the internet has been the most common location for
human trafficking recruitment, according to a 2020 report by the
Human Trafficking Institute.

More than half of all online victim recruitments in sex
trafficking cases that occurred in 2020 took place on Facebook,
“making it by far the most frequently referenced website or app in
public sources connected with these prosecutions, which was also
true in 2019,” the report found.

After Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat were the two most
frequently cited social media platforms for recruiting child
victims.

Paving the way for tech companies to be held liable when
they’re used for criminal activity

[Huffingtonpost] Texas’ highest court has ruled that Facebook
can be held liable for sex trafficking carried out on its social
media platforms, after several victims accused the company of
knowingly benefiting from its online facilitation.

Friday’s ruling by the state’s Supreme Court allows three civil
lawsuits by trafficking victims to proceed against the social media
giant, after the court determined that current laws do not permit
Facebook, or any other website, to act as a “lawless
no-man’s-land,” the Houston Chronicle first reported.

The victims have accused Facebook of violating a state
anti-trafficking law passed in 2009 ― Chapter 98 of the Texas Civil
Practice and Remedies Code ― that makes a defendant who traffics a
person, or who intentionally or knowingly benefits from the act,
liable to the victim.

Facebook in February requested that the court dismiss the
lawsuits, which were filed by three women who said that as
teenagers they were pulled into the sex trade by pimps using the
company’s social media platforms.

In one of the cases reported by the Chronicle, the victim said
she was 14 years old when she was contacted by a man on Instagram,
which is owned by Facebook. She said the man ended up raping her
and advertising her as a prostitute on Instagram. After the girl
was rescued from the operation, her Instagram profile continued to
be used to lure in other minors. The victim’s mother said she
reported what happened to Facebook but the company never
responded.

The plaintiffs accuse Facebook of “creating a breeding ground
for sex traffickers to stalk and entrap survivors.” Instead of
implementing safeguards that would require verification of users’
identities and being more selective with its advertising, the
company is accused of choosing to increase its profit margins.

Facebook argued that Section 230 of the federal Communications
Decency Act, passed in 1996, protects online service providers from
liability for content published by its users, as well as liability
for regulating it.

However, the Texas justices dismissed that blanket defense on
Friday, arguing that Facebook played a role in facilitating the
illicit behavior. It also noted that in 2018, Congress amended
Section 230 so that civil liability could be imposed on websites
that violate state and federal human trafficking laws.

“We do not understand Section 230 to ‘create a lawless
no-man’s-land on the Internet’ in which states are powerless to
impose liability on websites that knowingly or intentionally
participate in the evil of online human trafficking,” the justices
said in their majority opinion. “Holding internet platforms
accountable for the 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 said it is considering its next steps.

“Sex trafficking is abhorrent and not allowed on Facebook,” a
spokesperson told HuffPost in a statement. “We will continue our
fight against the spread of this content and the predators who
engage in it.”

A lawyer for one of the victims suing Facebook said their work
doesn’t stop here.

“Our clients have fought for over two years for the chance to
bring their case,” attorney Annie McAdams said in a statement.
“While we have a long road ahead, we are grateful that the Texas
Supreme Court will allow these courageous trafficking survivors to
have their day in court against Facebook. With the help of Chapter
98 protection, we believe trafficking survivors in Texas can expose
and hold accountable businesses such as Facebook that benefit from
these crimes of exploitation.”

Since 2013, the internet has been the most common location for
human trafficking recruitment, according to a 2020 report by the
Human Trafficking Institute.

More than half of all online victim recruitments in sex
trafficking cases that occurred in 2020 took place on Facebook,
“making it by far the most frequently referenced website or app in
public sources connected with these prosecutions, which was also
true in 2019,” the report found.

After Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat were the two most
frequently cited social media platforms for recruiting child
victims.