Should These Websites Be Held Accountable for the Buffalo Supermarket Massacre?
In the latest development following the 2022 racially motivated massacre at Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, New York, a judge ruled that a few major tech companies could be swept into legal action in connection to the shooting.
YouTube, Reddit, Google and Alphabet Inc. are all vulnerable for being labeled defendants in a lawsuit filed by gun control organization Everytown Law who targeted them on behalf of the 25 survivors of the shooting. The suit alleged the sites had a “well-documented tendency” of drawing in teenagers to be addicted to their algorithms. Those teens, including shooter Payton Gendron, would then be compelled to constantly scroll through a feed filled with anti-Black content and information on how to obtain military-style weapons like the one used in the shooting.
Police say back in 2022, Gendron killed 10 Black people at the grocery store after plotting to prey on a predominantly Black area by inspiration of a white supremacist manifesto.
In an effort to wiggle themselves out of the litigation, a report from KSBY says the companies filed a motion to dismiss the suit arguing they were protected by the Communications Decency Act and the First Amendment.
Monday, Erie County Supreme Court Justice Paula Feroleto ruled their argument wasn’t strong enough.
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“The Court has determined the complaint sufficiently pleads viable causes of action to go forward at this stage of the litigation,” said Erie County Supreme Court Justice Paula Feroleto.
In her decision, the judge said that the plaintiffs may proceed with their lawsuit, which claims social media companies — like Meta, Alphabet, Reddit and 4chan — ”profit from the racist, antisemitic, and violent material displayed on their platforms to maximize user engagement,” including the time then 18-year-old Payton Gendron spent on their platforms viewing that material.
“It is far too early to rule as a matter of law that the actions, or inaction, of the social media/internet defendants through their platforms require dismissal,” said the judge.
A report from NPR noted the ruling comes during an active stipulation over Section 230 - a law protecting companies from being held accountable for the content their users post. However, Everytown’s lawsuit goes further to argue that YouTube and Reddit are “defective” products which would then put them in jeopardy of facing new liability laws if the court agrees with the plaintiffs.
The companies made it clear they disagreed with the ruling and vowed to appeal the decision.
“Hate and violence have no place on Reddit. We are constantly evaluating ways to improve our detection and removal of this content, including through enhanced image-hashing systems, and we will continue to review the communities on our platform to ensure they are upholding our rules,” the site said in a statement to CNN.
