Doe used SexSearch to meet Jane Roe, who described herself as an eighteen-year-old female
No. 07-4182.
Pseudonymous plaintiff John Doe appeals the dismissal of his complaint against defendant, SexSearch (“SexSearch”), an online adult dating service that facilitates sexual encounters between its members. The two met and had sexual relations. Roe, it turned out, was actually fourteen years old, and Doe was consequently arrested and charged with three counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. In an unusual case of first impression, Doe then filed suit against SexSearch, alleging an array of violations under Ohio law, most of which are variations on the claim that SexSearch is at fault for Doe’s sexual relationship with a minor and the harm that resulted from his arrest.
United States Court of Appeals,Sixth Circuit
The district court dismissed all fourteen causes of action under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. In the alternative, the district court held that eight of the fourteen causes of action were also barred by the Communications Decency Act, 47 U.S.C. § 230. Because we agree with the district court that Doe’s complaint failed to state a claim, we do not reach the question of whether the Communications Decency Act provides SexSearch with immunity from suit. We do not adopt the district court’s discussion of the Act, which would read § 230 more broadly than any previous Court of Appeals decision has read it, potentially abrogating all state- or common-law causes of action brought against interactive Internet services. We do not have before us any issue concerning the criminal liability of the parties or the voidability of contracts for sexual services.
SexSearch is an “online adult dating service.” Its members use the website to meet one another for sexual encounters. In e a “Gold Member” of SexSearch, which required him to pay $ per month and agree to the site’s Terms and Conditions, including a promise on Doe’s behalf that he was at least eighteen years old. (περισσότερα…)