Report from Courthouse News
In Brief – A federal judge has dismissed an attempt by Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, to block the State of Utah from engaging in civil litigation in state court to enforce consumer protection laws against the social media company. District Judge Jill Parrish ruled that the state’s case should be handled in state court under the Younger abstention doctrine, which limits federal court interference in ongoing state proceedings. Utah has enacted laws to regulate social media but they have challenged by tech companies, including Snap, and blocked by a federal judge. Utah authorities have separately accused Snap of harming young users, including facilitating illegal activity and misrepresenting safety measures, leading to subpoenas and planned legal action in the state. Snap attempted to preempt the state officials by filing a federal lawsuit alleging that the state was targeting it for challenging the social media laws, violating its First Amendment rights. Judge Parrish emphasized that the company’s constitutional claims can be adequately addressed in state courts.
Context – In the global campaign to regulate social media, Sec. 230 has dramatically shaped the US battle by protecting online platforms from liability for content posted by users, and for content moderation decisions. It has pushed critics to argue that they were trying to regulate platform features they allege are addictive and harmful to young users. Some states, including Utah, have passed social media laws intended to circumvent Sec. 230, but most, like Utah’s, have been blocked by federal judges for violating the First Amendment. The big change agent in the US looks like it might be the thousands of civil lawsuits from private plaintiffs, school districts, and State AGs. Many have been consolidated in the California state court of Judge Carolyn Kuhl, and Meta and YouTube lost the first big trial there. The day before the jury verdict in California, Meta lost a $375 million jury decision in New Mexico court in a lawsuit brought by the attorney general. Juries seemed primed by years of media reports on the supposed evils of social media.