US appeals court rejects publisher's claim against Meta over page shutdown
The Ninth Circuit upheld the dismissal of a conversion claim filed by Canadian company Shared Partnership.
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the dismissal of a conversion claim by Canadian publisher Shared Partnership against Meta Platforms, Inc. on October 30, 2026.
The dispute arose after Meta permanently shut down the Facebook pages of Shared Partnership in October 2020, ending a relationship that had lasted over a decade.
Shared Partnership, which had approximately 25 million Facebook followers at its peak, argued that the closure interfered with its business and property rights.
The company had submitted more than 500,000 advertisements to Meta, though more than 18,000 were rejected for violating advertising policies.
Circuit Judge Kenneth Lee, writing for a three-judge panel, stated that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects online platforms when they act as publishers. The court found that deciding to remove content or unpublish pages falls under these editorial responsibilities.
The court also rejected the publisher's argument that the dispute could be treated as a contractual violation to bypass legal protections provided by Section 230.
