Facts

Reddit is an online network of communities, or forums, where people with similar interests can share their thoughts, opinions, passions and hobbies regarding subjects as varied as global and local news to cats. It is one of the most visited sites in the world, being deemed as a community-determined aggregator of content. The company generates revenue through advertising and an ad-free premium membership plan. As a social platform, users submit posts that other users "upvote" or "downvote" based on if they like it. If a post receives many upvotes it moves up the Reddit rankings so that more people can see it. If it receives downvotes it quickly falls and disappears from most people's view. Reddit is split into sub-communities, or subreddits. As popularly noted within the Reddit community, if it exists, there's a subreddit for it. They can be created by any user around any subject, whether it's something broad, such as technology, or as specific as a single joke. Each subreddit feeds into the full Reddit list of submissions meaning a post in any subreddit (unless it is private) could reach the front page of the website. One of the biggest draws for the site is the ease of which one can maintain anonymity. However, while posting on the subreddits works in the same way, many have different sets of rules and even within the Reddit community, Redditequette, which is Reddit's set of rules and behaviors for using the platform, is policed and maintained. In April 2021, several plaintiffs sued under the pseudonym Jane and John Does. They brought a class action suit against defendant Reddit Inc., representing anyone who had underage photos or videos that could be deemed pornographic and sought injunctive relief and damages.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS: Plaintiffs, Jane Doe and others, alleged that defendant Reddit unknowingly benefited financially from videos and images featuring minors, specifically child pornography posted to its website. Moreover, Reddit only instituted a policy against child pornography after a controversy in 2011. Plaintiffs contended that Reddit is a "safe haven" for that type of content. Specifically, as to Jane Doe, her former boyfriend uploaded a sex tape that he made when she was a minor and, while Reddit took down the content posted to its site and disabled her ex-boyfriend's Reddit account, she asserted that Reddit facilitated her "trafficking" and the distribution of child sexual abuse materials. Reddit also failed to report the child sexual abuse material, violating the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. At the heart of plaintiffs' argument was FOSTA-SESTA, an amendment to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. While the 2018 FOSTA-SESTA bill removed protections for sex trafficking-related material, plaintiffs' lawsuit argued that Jane Doe's case met the definition because Reddit's advertising revenue turned the video into a "commercial sex act." Plaintiffs further maintained that Reddit knew its site was used as a hub for illegal photos and videos and should have done more to protect victims. Plaintiffs alleged that, presently, Reddit continues to inadequately enforce its guidelines regarding its ban against child sexualization since it relies on unpaid volunteers to manage the individual subreddits, compromising its internal security.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendant Reddit noted that plaintiffs failed to adequately allege their claims including sex trafficking. Moreover, as to Jane Doe, if her allegations regarding her former boyfriend were true, then his actions constituted multiple federal and state criminal law violations and would support a civil claim against him by her. Yet, she sought to hold Reddit liable for the acts and third-party content of her ex-boyfriend. Therefore, plaintiffs sued the wrong defendant given that Reddit did not film nor post the alleged videos. Specifically, she failed to allege the following: that Reddit had specific knowledge of her being trafficked; that she was trafficked; or that Reddit participated in a trafficking venture with her ex-boyfriend. Also, Reddit noted that she could not make claims under California's Unfair Competition Law nor through the Communications Decency Act. That Act states that no provider or user of an interactive computer service can be treated as the publisher or speaker of information provided by another information content provider. Defendants stated that this Act bars claims, such as plaintiffs, that relate to publishing functions that at its core deals with "reviewing, editing and deciding whether to publish or withdraw from publication third-party content." Finally, defendant Reddit denied that it condoned abuse, noting that such material has no place on its platform and that it actively maintains policies and procedures that goes above and beyond the laws, using automated tools and human intelligence to proactively detect and prevent the dissemination of child abuse materials. When they find such material, they purge it and permanently ban the user from accessing Reddit, which is what they did with Jane Doe's ex-boyfriend. They also, importantly, report the user and preserve any necessary user data.

Result

The court dismissed all of plaintiffs' claims against defendant Reddit with prejudice.