A woman has sued Reddit for allowing an ex-boyfriend to repeatedly post pornographic images of her as a 16-year-old. The lawsuit applies controversial measures instituted in 2018 under FOSTA-SESTA to a site that’s drawn particular criticism for child sexualization. The resulting case will test the limits of platforms’ legal shields amid ongoing efforts to pare back the law behind them.
he woman claimed Reddit’s reported lack of action violates FOSTA-SESTA, an amendment to the Communications Decency Act’s Section 230 that strips safe harbor protections from online services for sex trafficking content. Reddit supposedly violated the law by running ads that made the imagery a “commercial sex act,” and allegedly knew this kind of material existed on its service while tolerating its existence.
This Jane Doe is pursuing class action status to include anyone affected.
Reddit denied any tolerance in a statement. It said that child sexual abuse has “no place” in its community, and that it went “above and beyond” the law in cracking down on this material using a combination of automation and human moderation. The company also stressed that it removed content, banned users, and reported offenders to law enforcement.
The case could help define how broadly FOSTA-SESTA applies. The amendment was meant to curb direct trafficking on sites like Backpage. In this case, the woman argued that it cover child sexual abuse material no matter how it was obtained or whether or not the producer demanded payment. There’s a real chance the court will reject claims this amounted to sex trafficking, but a successful expansion of that definition could open the door to many other legal challenges.
Some lawmakers have pushed for broader limits to Section 230. The EARN IT Act, for instance, would make services potentially liable for child sexual abuse material unless they hewed to a set of best practices. But its open-ended language alarmed privacy advocates who saw it as a potential attack on encryption, and it hasn’t proceeded to a vote on the House or Senate floor. Changing (or repealing) Section 230 could also drag sites and apps into protracted court battles over moderation decisions, particularly smaller services without the legal resources of tech giants.
Much of the debate over Section 230 has focused on Facebook, Alphabet, and other massive Silicon Valley companies. Suits like this one highlight FOSTA-SESTA’s potential impact on mid-sized web services. They also, however, highlight harmful failures in services like Reddit whose hybrid moderation system has created gaps that abusers can easily exploit.
