Doe v. Facebook — 9th Cir. (argued August 12, 2026)

No. 25-2246 Argued August 12, 2026 Published August 14, 2026; updated August 18, 2026

The Ninth Circuit considers whether Section 230 shields Meta from claims brought by a woman who says a trafficker used Instagram to groom and sell her. The district court dismissed her civil sex-trafficking and product-liability claims. She argues that her case targets Instagram's reporting tools, warnings, identity checks, and other product design choices, not Meta's handling of users' posts. Meta says those theories still seek to hold it liable for third-party content and are barred by circuit precedent.

Doe v. Facebook (No. 25-2246) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, argued August 12, 2026.

Sources

Argument audio — Ninth Circuit:https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/media/2026/08/12/25-2246.mp3

Argument listing — Ninth Circuit:https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/cases/streams-videos/archive?case=25-2246&hearingDate=2026-08-12

Opinion search — Ninth Circuit:https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/decisions/opinions/

Appellate docket mirror — Justia:https://dockets.justia.com/docket/circuit-courts/ca9/25-2246

District-court dismissal order:https://www.leagle.com/decision/768251512fsupp3d105765

District-court hearing report — Bloomberg Law:https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/instagram-sex-trafficking-case-judge-grapples-with-section-230

47 U.S.C. § 230 — U.S. House of Representatives:https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?edition=prelim&num=0&req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title47-section230

18 U.S.C. § 1595 — U.S. House of Representatives:https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=%28title%3A18+section%3A1595+edition%3Aprelim%29

Doe 1 v. Twitter — Ninth Circuit:https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2025/08/01/24-177.pdf

Lair v. Bullock — Ninth Circuit:https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2015/05/26/12-35809.pdf