Appeals Court Tosses Lawsuit Against Social Media Companies Over 2022 Buffalo Shooting

The plaintiffs aimed to hold the social media platforms liable for disseminating content that allegedly motivated the shooter to commit the attack.

Police walk outside the Tops grocery store, in Buffalo, N.Y., on May 15, 2022. Joshua Bessex/AP Photo

A New York appellate court on July 25 dismissed a lawsuit filed against Meta, Google, and several other social media and Internet-based companies, in connection with the 2022 mass shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.

The mass shooting at Tops Friendly Markets in Buffalo on May 14, 2022, left 10 people dead and three injured. Police arrested Payton Gendron, an 18-year-old white man, who, in November 2022, pleaded guilty to murder and hate-motivated terrorism charges. Gendron apologized for the attack.