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Jane Doe v. Facebook -- J. Thomas' statement
In 2012, an adult, male sexual predator used Facebook to lure 15-year-old Jane Doe to a meeting, shortly after which she was repeatedly raped, beaten, and trafficked for sex.
Doe eventually escaped and sued Facebook in Texas state court, alleging that Facebook had violated Texas’ anti-sex-trafficking statute and committed various common-law offenses. Facebook petitioned the Texas Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus dismissing Doe’s suit. The court held
that a provision of the Communications Decency Act known as §230 bars Doe’s common-law claims, but not her statutory sex-trafficking claim.
Thomas explains that while granting cert in this case was not appropriate, Section 230 immunity must be limited.
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