Texas AG files brief in Facebook human trafficking case

By Robert Davis | The Center Square, contributor

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday in a case that alleges Facebook’s platform is used to facilitate international human trafficking operations.

Facebook contends that section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act, which says social media websites are not considered publishers of the material on their platforms, provides the company with “absolute immunity” from the lawsuit, according to the brief.

“Facebook’s wrongful interpretation of Section 230 is being used to protect social media giants, while Americans are being silenced,” Paxton said in a news release. “A disturbing increase in heinous crimes such as human trafficking and illegal activity have eroded the fabric of our great nation.”

In the lawsuit, an unidentified plaintiff accuses Facebook of failing to warn her about the known dangers associated with human trafficking on its platform. The plaintiff further alleges that Facebook failed to warn her because its “business model depends on maximizing contacts between users – including contacts with minors,” according to the brief.

Paxton argues in the brief that if Facebook’s argument is accepted, the law would leave victims of human trafficking “without effective relief or financial remedy while Facebook takes advantage of this vulnerable demographic in exchange for advertising dollars.”

Texas is also recommending that Section 230 be amended to allow social media companies to be held liable in these cases, according to the new release.

“Reading section 230 in a disciplined way that honors Congress’s plain language will not destroy the Internet. Properly interpreted, Section 230 provides key protections for online actors without affording them the textually unjustifiable absolute immunity that many platform operators demand,” the brief reads in part.

Other states that have signed on to the brief include Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, and Ohio.