YNOT
  • Home
  • Industry News
    • Adult Business News
    • Adult Novelty News
    • YNOT Magazine
    • EU News
    • Opinions
    • Picture Galleries
  • PR Wire
    • Adult Company News
    • Adult Retail News
    • Adult Talent News
    • Adult Videos News
  • Podcasts
  • Industry Guides
    • Adult Affiliate Guide
    • Affiliate Marketing for Beginners
    • Top Adult Traffic Networks
    • Top Adult PR Agents
    • Funding an Adult Business
  • Business Directory
    • View Categories
    • View Listings
    • Submit Listing
  • Newsletters
  • Industry Events
    • Events Calendar
    • YNOT Cam Awards | Hollywood
    • YNOT Awards | Prague
    • YNOT Cammunity
    • YNOT Summit
    • YNOT Reunion
  • Login with YNOT ID

SCOTUS Declines Facebook Case, Thomas Calls for Review of Section 230

Posted On 08 Mar 2022
By : Michael McGrady

Supreme Court Justice Clarence ThomasWASHINGTON — The United States Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from a Texas woman who claims that Facebook and its parent company, Meta, are liable for facilitating child sex trafficking. The filing, Jane Doe v. Facebook Inc., was denied a writ of certiorari (a request to seek further judicial review by a higher court) meaning that the case questioning Facebook’s liability under Section 230 is blocked.

Jane Doe’s counsel filed the writ with the high court in September of 2021. This order was denied, with the conservative-leaning Justice Clarence Thomas asking Congress to revisit the scope of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996.

“Here, the Texas Supreme Court recognized that “[t]he United States Supreme Court—or better yet, Congress—may soon resolve the burgeoning debate about whether the federal courts have thus far correctly interpreted Section 230,” Justice Thomas argues. “Assuming Congress does not step in to clarify…230’s scope, we should do so in an appropriate case.”

This is a noteworthy development for the adult entertainment industry and the broader online sector. Section 230 is often referred to as “First Amendment of the Internet” or “the twenty-six words that created the internet.” Crucially, Section 230 states that “no 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.”

The Supreme Court and courts at all levels of the US judicial system have repeatedly affirmed that Section 230 provides a vast third-party liability shield that protects interactive computer services, like an adult-focused porn website or a social network like Twitter, from the liability of a third-party user who takes advantage of such venues for illegal purposes. These include cases of trafficking.

Jane Doe v. Facebook Inc. highlights a case where a third-party user took advantage of Facebook to recruit a minor into sexual exploitation. There is no doubt that Doe was wronged and the perpetrator of those crimes should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Holding a platform vicariously liable for the actions of its users would be a damaging precedent, as it would discourage platforms from allowing user-generated content (UGC), or force them to closely scrutinize every upload to and communication across the platform.

For large, popular social media platforms — and adult sites that receive a substantial number of UGC uploads — performing a detailed prior review of content uploaded and communications sent essentially would make it impossible to function as they currently do, imposing a burdensome duty of prior review. Twitter, for example, was clocking approximately 6,000 tweets per second as of May 2020, which translates to roughly 500 million tweets per day. Prescreening such an enormous number of daily communications would be challenging, to put it mildly.

 

Clarence Thomas official portrait by Steve Petteway, from the Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States

About the Author
Michael McGrady is an adult entertainment industry journalist based in the United States. He is also a public relations professional and owns My Adult SEO — a brand new digital marketing agency. Michael is also a published adult photographer. He is a contributor to YNOT.com, YNOT Cam, YNOT Magazine, and a contributing editor of ASN Lifestyle Magazine. Michael is married and lives in Colorado.
  • google-share
Previous Story

Leana Lovings Hits Pornhub Top 100, Debuts on ‘Ask A Cam Model’

Next Story

SWAID Las Vegas is Helping Vulnerable Sex Workers, Asks for Industry Support

Related Posts

Justices of the Supreme Court

The Court Gave Governments an Inch. Expect Them to Take a Mile

Posted On 24 Jul 2025
, By GeneZorkin
Attorney Corey D. Silverstein's Age Verification Webinar Now Streaming

Attorney Corey D. Silverstein’s Age Verification Webinar Now Streaming

Posted On 15 Jul 2025
, By GeneZorkin
Are We CERTAIN ‘Veggie Tales’ Isn’t Harmful to Minors?

Are We CERTAIN ‘Veggie Tales’ Isn’t Harmful to Minors?

Posted On 01 Jul 2025
, By Ben Suroeste

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Sponsor

YNOT Shoot Me

YNOTShootMe.com has exclusive pics from adult industry business events. Check it out!

YNOT Directory

  • MojoHost
    Website Hosting Services
  • X2k
    Other Professional Services
  • iMonetizeit
    CPA Networks
  • Premiere Listing

    Mail Value Profits

    More Details

RECENT

POPULAR

COMMENTS

Kasey Kei Sinks Her Teeth Into Spooky New Gender X Films Scene

Posted On 05 Sep 2025

ASN Awards Announces 2025 Winners

Posted On 05 Sep 2025
Elegant Angel Releases “Shared: A Hotwife Origin Story”

Elegant Angel Releases “Shared: A Hotwife Origin Story”

Posted On 05 Sep 2025

Vanessa, Meet Vivid

Posted On 29 Sep 2014
Laila Mickelwaite and Exodus Cry

Laila Mickelwaite, Exodus Cry and their Crusade Against Porn

Posted On 03 May 2021

Someone puts Gal Gadot in one of your vids? Take it down!

Posted On 13 Dec 2017

Hoping viewers can also enjoy a spooky...

Posted On 24 Oct 2023

now a days these type of games will get...

Posted On 17 Jul 2023

good move from adent. these type of...

Posted On 06 Jul 2023

Sponsor

Sitemap
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkPrivacy Policy