A federal judge in New York has added to the growing
number of rulings absolving sites like Craigslist of responsibility for crimes committed by users.
This week, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman dismissed a $10 million
lawsuit against Craigslist stemming from a gun sale arranged through the site.
New York resident Calvin Gibson sued the site for negligence after suffering serious injuries as a result of
gunshot wounds. The shooter, who allegedly has a long history of mental illness, reportedly purchased the gun from someone who advertised on Craigslist.
Gibson called the site "a robber baron of
the 21st century" in his legal papers. "Guns, drugs, sex and stolen merchandise are being sold on defendant's website," he argued. "For public policy concerns, it must be immediately regulated or shut
down."
But Berman found that Gibson's legal claims were barred by the Communications Decency Act, which says that Web sites are typically immune from liability for posts made by users (except
for posts that infringe on copyright or trademark.)
Berman's ruling is consistent with a host of other decisions saying that Craigslist, MySpace and other sites aren't liable when people use the
platforms to facilitate crime.
Last year, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Craigslist can't
be sued for housing ads that discriminate. In addition, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed
a lawsuit against MySpace by the parents of a teen girl who was assaulted by someone she met through the site.