U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Interprets Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act's Restriction on Section 230 Narrowly

Aaron Rubin, Alex Lawrence, and Dillon Kraus authored an article for The Computer & Internet Lawyer discussing the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruling that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act shielded Reddit from liability under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, which is the first time a federal court of appeals has interpreted how broadly the FOSTA [Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act] exception to Section 230 applies.

"This ruling is a significant win for proponents of broad and unfettered Section 230 protections," the authors wrote. "Even in the face of disturbing factual allegations, the Ninth Circuit interpreted FOSTA narrowly according to its text, holding that it only applies when websites knowingly facilitate sex trafficking conduct."

Read the full article.