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Reddit, YouTube to face lawsuits claiming they enabled a mass shooter
Taylor O'Bier

Reddit, YouTube to face lawsuits claiming they enabled a mass shooter

A New York judge ruled Reddit, YouTube and YouTube's parent companies
Google and Alphabet Inc. must face lawsuits that allege their content algorithms contributed to the radicalization of an 18-year-old gunman who executed a racially motivated attack in Buffalo, New York, killing 10
Black people in 2022.

The lawsuits were filed last year by gun control advocacy group Everytown
Law, which specializes in this type of litigation, on behalf of 25
survivors of the massacre at a Tops Friendly Market.

The tech companies claim that their platforms are merely message boards
and are therefore protected by the Communications Decency Act and the
First Amendment, but their motion to dismiss was denied on Monday by Erie County Supreme Court Justice Paula Feroleto.

In the decision she wrote, "they may yet establish that their platforms
are not products or that the negligent design features plaintiffs have
alleged are not part of their platforms. However, at this stage of the litigation, the Court must base its ruling on the allegations of the
complaint and not 'facts' asserted by the defendants in their briefs or
during oral argument and those allegations allege viable causes of action
under a products liability theory."

Everytown said these social media sites have a "well-documented tendency
to addict teenagers" built within their recommendation algorithms and
features.

"The shooter was addicted to these websites, and these websites
radicalized him against the Black community and equipped him with the
knowledge he needed to execute his horrific plans," said Everytown when
the lawsuits were first filed. "These websites' design features and
algorithms shepherded him along the path of radicalization and taught him
how to obtain military-grade armaments like his body armor, modify his
weapon to enable its semi-automatic firing capacity, and conduct a military-style assault operation with deadly efficiency."

Representatives for YouTube and Reddit provided separate statements on the decision to CNN, both stating they plan to appeal and evaluate their
individual platforms.

The companies are also currently facing scrutiny over extremist material
in Australia, along with Meta, X, WhatsApp and Telegram. According to The Associated Press, the country's eSafety regulator issued legal notices
Tuesday asking each company to detail the steps they are taking to protect Australian users of the platforms from harmful material.
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