Overview

• Justice Paul Goetz rejected Section 230 and First Amendment immunity defenses, allowing wrongful death, negligence and product liability claims against Meta and ByteDance to proceed.
• Claims against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority were dismissed after the court ruled that the inherent dangers of subway surfing negated the MTA’s liability.
• Norma Nazario has been granted discovery rights to obtain internal records showing how her son was targeted with subway surfing content.
• The lawsuit contends that platform design funneled addictive “subway surfing” videos to underage users without any demonstrated interest in such stunts.
• New York City reported over 450 subway surfing incidents in early 2023 and at least six related fatalities in 2024, intensifying scrutiny of social media’s impact on youth safety.