Snap, Amazon Appellate Rulings Pave New Paths to Tech Liability

A new lawsuit alleging Snap Inc. failed to protect teens from cyberbullying with fatal results stands to benefit from a recent ruling expanding liability against web platforms and sites by curtailing the online publisher defense, attorneys say.

The recent ruling from the Ninth Circuit, which also involved teen deaths, rejected the online publisher defense for Snap. It came soon after a California state appeals court ruling finding Amazon.com Inc. a “seller” of products offered on its marketplace.

The two in combination are expected to create more legal exposure for electronic retailers who had, until not long ago, successfully argued that ...