Can something intangible be considered a product and thus eligible for lawsuits under strict liability? According to survivors and family members of victims killed in a 2022 mass shooting, the algorithms used by the largest online platforms are responsible for pushing the hateful rhetoric that led the killer to open fire in a Buffalo supermarket.
On May 20, 2025, plaintiffs and attorneys for internet commerce and social behemoths met in a New York appellate court to once again test the boundaries of the protections offered under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. While Section 230 has a history of protecting online merchant and social media sites from repercussions due to content published on their platforms, there's a chance that this racially-motivated hate crime that took ten lives may provide a new precedent.
Shaped by the Internet or Born That Way?
On May 14, 2022, a lone gunman opened fire in the parking lot of a Tops Friendly Market in the East Side section of Buffalo, New York. Armed with an illegally modified AR-15 rifle, Payton Gendron continued the massacre inside the store. He specifically targeted black shoppers and was streaming the assault online before the service cut off his feed. Law enforcement reported that he was yelling racial slurs during his attack.
A security guard shot Gendron, but his body armor stopped the bullet. His return fire killed the guard. Gendron continued to terrorize those in the market before surrendering to police after threatening to kill himself. He pleaded not guilty to 11 murder charges at the state level before reversing course and pleading guilty. Gendron received 11 life sentences without hope of parole to be served concurrently. As of May 2025, he is still facing capital murder charges at a federal level, with the Justice Department indicating it may seek the death penalty.
In both the manifesto he posted on Google Sheets and other online postings on social media sites, Gendron identified himself as a white supremacist and a believer in the Great Replacement Theory conspiracy pushed by far-right pundits such as Tucker Carlson. He was investigated for making a general threat in 2021 while still in high school.
In multiple class-action lawsuits filed by survivors and the families of those slain, the plaintiffs allege that online platforms like Google, Meta, Amazon, and Reddit facilitated the dissemination of racist material that influenced Gendron enough to turn him into a racist killing machine. They claim that the algorithms the sites use to direct focused information about topics users are interested in essentially incited Gendron into a hate-fueled slaughter.
With a trial court either unwilling or unable to decide whether a computer program was a viable subject for strict product liability, the case moved to New York's Supreme Court Fourth Appellate Department. Multiple motions to dismiss from the defendants were quashed, setting the stage for arguments in the appellate court.
Assigning Responsibility
As has been the case many times before, the online platforms are claiming immunity under Section 230. In the simplest of definitions, Section 230 absolves internet providers of responsibility for what users of their platforms post. While most have Terms of Service that give them the power to censure or remove users who violate their policies, the sites are also wary of liability if a few posts slip through and have gone on the record as saying they want to promote diverse viewpoints.
Meta's Facebook estimates it has over 3.6 billion posts daily, while Reddit claims an average close to 850,000. With Section 230 remaining in place, the defense has remained the same - we're following the law.
Would Payton Gendron have still become a mass murderer if he hadn't found what he likely considered affirmation for his racist beliefs through online platforms? While an undisputable confirmation might not be possible, the plaintiffs hope to see Section 230 altered enough to allow wrongful death lawsuits to proceed against the internet giants. If they succeed, the ensuing effect on the internet will be seismic.
Related Resources
- Don't Have Time To Read the Terms of Service? Here's a Tip (FindLaw's Practice of Law)
- Wrongful Death Law (FindLaw's Torts and Personal Injury Law)
- Meta's Monopoly Trial in a Nutshell (FindLaw's Courtside)
