Plaintiffs, Jane and Julie Doe, filed suit against MySpace, Inc. and its parent company, News Corporation, alleging negligence, gross negligence, fraud, and negligent misrepresentation based on MySpace’s failure to implement safety measures to protect minors like Julie Doe from sexual assault by adult MySpace users. The Court held that the CDA provided Defendants with immunity from tort liability even if MySpace was aware of the risk of sexual assault and took no precautions. Declining to extend the duty of premises owners to “virtual premises,” the Court concluded that the negligence and gross negligence claims also failed under common law because MySpace had no duty to protect Julie Doe from sexual assault, regardless of the foreseeability of sexual assault. The Court granted Defendants’ motion to dismiss on all counts.
Stanford Center for Internet and Society
In the heart of the Silicon Valley, legal doctrine is emerging that will determine the course of civil rights and technological innovation for decades to come. The Center for Internet and Society (CIS), housed at Stanford Law School and a part of the Law, Science and Technology Program, is at the apex of this evolving area of law.
CDA 230
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