Elon Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter) will have to face parts of a lawsuit over its handling of child sexual abuse material, following a recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
The case involves two teenage boys who were coerced into sending explicit videos via Snapchat, which were later compiled into a single video and uploaded to Twitter. The content remained on the platform for over a week, drawing more than 167,000 views, before it was finally taken down and reported to authorities.
The plaintiffs argue that X was made aware of the video but failed to remove it in a timely manner. The court determined that this delay—combined with allegations that X made it difficult to report the content—could support claims of negligence.
While tech companies generally enjoy strong legal protection under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields platforms from liability for user-generated content, the court found that this protection does not apply when a platform has direct knowledge of illegal material and delays acting on it.
However, the court also dismissed other parts of the lawsuit, including claims that X knowingly benefited from sex trafficking or promoted the content through its algorithmic systems. Those allegations, the court said, still fall under Section 230 immunity.
This ruling marks a rare but significant challenge to the limits of Section 230. By allowing negligence claims to move forward, the court emphasized that platforms may have legal responsibilities once they are made aware of harmful or illegal content, especially when it involves the exploitation of minors.
The original lawsuit was filed before Elon Musk took over the company in late 2022. A lower court had previously dismissed the case in 2023, but this new decision partially revives it and allows it to proceed to trial.
The case could set an important precedent for how courts interpret platform liability in cases involving child sexual abuse material.
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