Facebook Ruling Splits Courts Over Liability Shield Limits for IP

A Third Circuit ruling reviving a right of publicity lawsuit against Facebook Inc. raises fundamental questions about a federal liability shield for social media platforms.

The decision calcified what had been an implicit circuit split on whether Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act shields platforms from liability for user violations of state IP laws, including right of publicity laws. The section exempts online platforms from liability for user action, but doesn’t apply to intellectual property-related claims.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on Sept. 23 directly refuted a 2007 Ninth Circuit ruling, in which that court ...