Facebook Defeats Claims for Removing Urination Videos

Facebook Inc. escaped claims alleging it blocked a user’s videos and pictures of people urinating.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California June 18 dismissed the claims under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields websites from liability for editing or removing third-party content.

Plaintiff Jason Fyk alleged that Facebook devalued his pages by blocking content to make room for sponsored ads. He brought claims for fraud and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage. Facebook moved to dismiss under Section 230.

The court rejected Fyk’s argument that Section 230 doesn’t apply because a third party ...