WASHINGTON, DC (August 1, 2025) – The National Center on Sexual Exploitation Law Center said that a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that a lawsuit (John Doe #1 and John Doe #2 v. Twitter, Inc.) against X (formerly Twitter) can proceed for failing to report child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on its site is an “historic victory for child exploitation survivors.”
The ruling found that X does not have Section 230 immunity for certain products liability and negligence per se claims based on its abysmal child exploitation reporting mechanisms and X’s failure to report John Doe #1’s and John Doe #2’s CSAM (“child pornography” under the law) when it had actual knowledge of this content on its website.
“For too long, CDA Section 230 has stood in the way of justice for victims of heinous sexual exploitation and accountability for websites and tech platforms that have knowingly facilitated these abuses,” said Dani Pinter, Senior Vice President and Director of the Law Center for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
“We celebrate this victory with our brave clients who brought this lawsuit to ensure that no other child would experience the same exploitation and cold indifference from a major social media platform that knew it was circulating CSAM and the exploitation of a child yet chose to continue this activity anyway. We look forward to discovery and ultimately trial against X to get justice and accountability for our courageous clients.”
The National Center on Sexual Exploitation Law Center, the Haba Law Firm, and the Matiasic Firm represent two young boys whose child sexual abuse material (child pornography) was posted on X without their knowledge or consent and that X refused to remove in a lawsuit alleging that X profited from their sexual abuse and claimed immunity for hosting it.
About The Haba Law Firm, P.A.
The Haba Law Firm is an award-winning law firm in Florida that provides excellence in civil litigation on behalf of human trafficking and sexual abuse survivors. Haba Law prides itself on its aggressive and effective representation, honesty, and trauma-informed, victim-centered advocacy.
About National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE)
Founded in 1962, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) is the leading national non-partisan organization exposing the links between all forms of sexual exploitation such as child sexual abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking and the public health harms of pornography.
About The Matiasic Firm
The Matiasic Firm is an award-winning law firm based in California dedicated to providing the highest caliber trial advocacy to victims of sexual abuse, wrongful death, and catastrophic injuries. The firm is perennially lauded for its unrivaled acumen in these areas and its record-setting results, as the firm has garnered the highest recovery across three different categories of cases and four separate jurisdictions. The firm is regularly called upon to prosecute the highest-profile, socially impactful cases.
To schedule an interview with NCOSE, please contact press@ncose.com.
