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US Supreme Court Rejects Appeal Challenging Tech Industry’s Section 230 Shield

By  |  October 14, 2025

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear a case that could have redefined the scope of legal immunity shielding technology companies from liability for content shared on their platforms. The decision leaves intact a lower court’s ruling that protected Los Angeles-based Grindr under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, according to Reuters.

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    The case involved a man identified as “John Doe,” who was raped at age 15 by adult men he met through Grindr. His lawsuit alleged the dating app’s design enabled adults to connect with minors and that the company failed to take adequate safety measures. However, lower courts dismissed the claims, ruling that Grindr could not be held liable for user-generated content under Section 230, per Reuters.

    Section 230, enacted in 1996, has long served as a cornerstone of internet law, allowing online platforms to operate without being treated as publishers of the content users post. It has shielded companies such as Meta Platforms and TikTok from a variety of lawsuits over harmful or illegal material hosted on their services.

    Doe’s lawyers argued that the provision has become a “goldmine for amoral companies who need not invest in providing safe products.” They said that in 2019, Doe was assaulted over four consecutive days by men he met through the app after falsely claiming to be 18. Grindr requires users to be adults but does not verify ages. Three of the attackers were convicted and sentenced to prison in Canada, while a fourth remains at large, according to court documents cited by Reuters.

    Read more: New York City Sues Tech Giants Over Youth Mental Health Crisis

    The plaintiff filed his civil suit in 2023, seeking compensatory and punitive damages totaling at least $66 million. His claims included negligence and failure to warn users about the risk of child sexual abuse. A federal court in California dismissed the case, and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that Section 230 barred the state law claims.

    In their petition to the Supreme Court, Doe’s attorneys urged the justices to reconsider whether Section 230 should shield platforms from liability for their own product design or marketing practices. They described the case as an opportunity to clarify whether app developers could be held accountable for allegedly unsafe features that facilitate illegal conduct.

    Advocates of Section 230 argue that removing or weakening its protections would expose online services to extensive litigation and prompt excessive censorship to avoid liability. Critics, including former President Donald Trump, have called for the law’s repeal, claiming it allows tech companies to evade responsibility for harmful content.

    The Supreme Court last considered Section 230 in 2023, when it declined to narrow the statute’s reach in cases involving claims that major platforms such as Alphabet’s YouTube aided the spread of terrorist propaganda.

    Source: Reuters