A New York state appeals court has ruled that several social media companies are not legally liable for enabling the 2022 mass shooting in Buffalo, where a white supremacist killed 10 Black people at a grocery store.
In a 3-2 decision issued on Friday, the Appellate Division in Rochester reversed a lower court’s ruling.
It found that platforms including Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, Google’s YouTube, and Reddit are protected by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
The federal law shields online platforms from liability for content posted by their users.
The case was brought by relatives of victims, store workers, and customers who witnessed the attack. They argued that the platforms were “defective” because they were “designed to addict and radicalize users like [Payton] Gendron.”
Other companies named as defendants included Alphabet, Amazon.com, Discord, 4chan, Snap, and Twitch—all of which the shooter used before the attack on May 14, 2022, at Tops Friendly Markets.
Justice Stephen Lindley, writing for the majority, condemned Gendron’s actions and the content he consumed.
“Because social media companies that sort and display content would be subject to liability for every untruthful statement made on their platforms, the Internet would over time devolve into mere message boards,” Lindley wrote.
He said such a finding “would result in the end of the Internet as we know it” and go against the intent of Section 230, which aims to encourage internet growth and reduce government interference.
Justices Tracey Bannister and Henry Nowak dissented.
They argued that the companies were not simply passive platforms but actively delivered targeted content—ranging from harmless videos to white nationalist propaganda—to keep users engaged.
“Such conduct does not maintain the robust nature of Internet communication or preserve the vibrant and competitive free market that presently exists for the Internet contemplated by the protections of immunity,” the dissenting judges wrote.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs have not yet commented.
Gendron pleaded guilty to state charges including first-degree murder and terrorism motivated by hate.
He was sentenced to life in prison without parole in February 2023.
He also faces federal charges that could carry the death penalty. Jury selection in that case is expected to begin in August 2026.
(Reuters)
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