Yes, but only in a limited procedural sense. On June 25, 2021, the Supreme Court of Texas allowed trafficking claims under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 98 to proceed past Facebook’s Section 230 challenge. It ordered dismissal of several common-law claims. The court did not find Facebook liable, determine that the plaintiffs had proved their allegations, or decide the case at trial.
What did the Texas Supreme Court decide?
In In re Facebook, Inc., No. 20-0434, the court considered Facebook’s request for mandamus relief in three lawsuits. The plaintiffs alleged that they had been trafficked after connecting with their abusers through Facebook. Facebook argued that Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act barred all of their claims.
The court partially granted Facebook’s request and partially denied it. It directed dismissal of the plaintiffs’ negligence, gross-negligence, negligent-undertaking, and products-liability claims. Those claims alleged failures to warn or take adequate steps to protect users from harm caused by other users. The court concluded that Section 230 barred those claims.
The court allowed the plaintiffs’ statutory claims under Texas Chapter 98 to continue. It distinguished claims that would hold a platform responsible for users’ words or actions from a claim alleging that the platform itself knowingly or intentionally participated in a human-trafficking venture.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
#1 Best Overall
What is the difference between the claims?
| Claim type | Alleged basis | Result in the 2021 ruling |
|---|---|---|
| Negligence, gross negligence, negligent undertaking, and products liability | Alleged failures to warn or protect plaintiffs from harms caused by other users | The court ordered these claims dismissed under Section 230. |
| Texas Chapter 98 statutory claim | Alleged knowing or intentional benefit from participation in a trafficking venture, based on the platform’s own conduct | The claim could proceed past Facebook’s Section 230 challenge. |
The distinction is about the legal basis of the claim, not a general finding that a platform is responsible whenever users commit crimes through its services. The Texas court considered the statutory theory sufficiently distinct from claims based on users’ content or conduct to survive Facebook’s Section 230 argument at that stage.
What does Texas Chapter 98 say?
Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 98.002(a) provides a civil claim against a defendant who engages in human trafficking or “intentionally or knowingly benefits from participating in a venture that traffics another person.” The statute provides for damages arising from the trafficking and also addresses actual damages, court costs, reasonable attorney’s fees for a prevailing claimant, exemplary damages, and joint liability. See the current Texas Chapter 98 text.
Rank #2
- Size : 5 size for choice(1 inch=2.54cm)
- The poster is printed on canvas. It is waterproof,moisture proof and high tensile strength.The poster has rich printing color and fine texture.
- If you need other sizes, please leave me a message. We can also customize any design, you can send pictures to us, or create pictures for you.
- Due to different display brands, the actual wall art color may be slightly different from the product image
- Perfect choice for bedroom, living room, guest room, meeting room, bathroom, dinning room, coffee bar, hallway, corridor, college dormitory, hotel, lounge, home and office decor.
The 2021 court ruling addressed whether Section 230 barred the plaintiffs’ statutory theory, not whether they could ultimately satisfy Chapter 98’s requirements. The current statutory page notes a 2025 amendment to subsection 98.007(e), so the statute should not be described as wholly unchanged since the court’s decision.
Did the court find Facebook liable?
No. The case was an original mandamus proceeding about whether claims could continue, not a trial or final judgment on liability. At this stage, the court considered the allegations for purposes of deciding Facebook’s challenge. It expressly cautioned: “Whether the plaintiffs can prove such a claim against Facebook is not at issue in this mandamus proceeding.”
The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →The court summarized its ruling narrowly: “We hold only that the statutory claim for knowingly or intentionally benefiting from participation in a human-trafficking venture is not barred by section 230 and may proceed to further litigation.” That leaves proof of the statutory elements—and any ultimate liability—to later proceedings.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What happened after the 2021 decision?
Later appellate opinions provide procedural context, but they do not turn the 2021 ruling into a finding that Facebook was liable. A 2022 Texas appellate opinion recounted that the state supreme court had ordered dismissal of the common-law claims while allowing the statutory claim to proceed, then addressed personal jurisdiction in the underlying case.
In 2024, the Supreme Court of Texas discussed a separate Chapter 98 case involving Facebook and Texas Pearl Hotel in a dispute about whether a tag-along case belonged in multidistrict litigation. That opinion described the statutory claim as requiring proof that defendants intentionally or knowingly benefited from the victim’s exploitation. It was a procedural dispute, not a final liability finding in the 2021 mandamus case.
Quick Recap
What the headline means—and what it does not
- It means: Texas’s highest court allowed the Chapter 98 theory against Facebook to move forward past a Section 230 challenge in that proceeding.
- It does not mean: the court convicted Facebook, found that Facebook knowingly trafficked children, or adjudicated that trafficking occurred on the platform.
- It also does not mean: platforms are categorically liable for crimes committed by their users. The ruling distinguished the plaintiffs’ statutory allegations about Facebook’s own conduct from claims based on users’ words or actions.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
Recommended Free Tools
