Losing access to a social media account can mean losing years of work, an established audience and an important source of business.
asserted
Losing → lose → business
That was the situation faced by a Canadian online publisher whose Facebook pages once attracted around 25 million followers.
asserted
pages → face → followers
The company had submitted more than 500,000 advertisements to Meta over the years, but thousands were rejected for violating advertising policies.
asserted
thousands → submit → policies
In October 2020, Meta permanently shut down its Facebook pages, ending a relationship that had lasted more than a decade.
asserted
that → shut → relationship
The publisher took the company to court, arguing that the closure had interfered with its business and property rights.
asserted
closure → take → rights
In a ruling dated October 30, 2026, in Shared Partnership v. Meta Platforms, Inc. (No. 25-2612), the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the dismissal of the publisher's conversion claim.
uncertain
Court → date → claim
According to the
judgment available on the Ninth Circuit's website, the three-judge panel found that Meta was protected by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act because removing the company's Facebook pages was part of its role as a publisher.
uncertain
removing → accord → publisher
The court also rejected the argument that presenting the dispute as a contractual violation could take it outside that legal protection.
uncertain
presenting → reject → protection
How the publisher built its Facebook audience
Shared Partnership is a Canadian company that creates and publishes online content.
asserted
that → build → content
For more than ten years, it operated several Facebook pages and used Meta's self-service advertising platform to attract visitors to its website and social media accounts.
asserted
it → operate → website
Its business model relied on eye-catching and provocative advertisements designed to generate clicks.
asserted
model → rely → clicks
The company's employees acknowledged that some of its advertising methods involved what they described as misleading clickbait and questionable promotional material.
asserted
they → acknowledge → clickbait
At its peak, Shared had approximately 25 million Facebook followers.
asserted
Shared → have → followers
Over the years, it submitted more than 500,000 advertisements to Meta for review.
asserted
it → submit → review
Although most were accepted, the platform rejected more than 18,000 advertisements for various policy violations.
asserted
platform → accept → violations
These included advertisements containing sensational or adult material, images focusing excessively on particular body parts, and promotions involving products or services considered deceptive or misleading.
asserted
These → include → products
One rejected advertisement featured images of damaged cars and actor Luke Wilson alongside claims about a horrific fatal car crash.
uncertain
advertisement → reject → crash
Facebook rejected it because its policies did not allow shocking or sensational content, including images depicting violence.
asserted
policies → reject → violence
The company was unhappy with the explanations provided for rejected advertisements.
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company → provide → advertisements
Its chief executive, Jordan Nabigon, believed Meta should provide customised feedback that would help the publisher edit advertisements and bring them into compliance.
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publisher → believe → compliance
Despite the repeated rejections, Shared continued advertising on Facebook until the relationship ended.
asserted
relationship → repeat → Facebook
Meta shuts down the pages in 2020
asserted
Meta → shut → 2020
In October 2020, Meta cancelled Shared's Facebook pages, citing repeated violations of its terms and policies.
asserted
Meta → cancel → terms
The publisher considered the decision devastating for its business.
asserted
decision → consider → business
It argued that losing its Facebook presence meant losing access to an audience it had spent years building.
asserted
it → argue → years
Shared subsequently sued Meta in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.
asserted
Shared → sue → California
Among its claims was conversion, a legal claim generally involving the wrongful interference with another party's personal property.
uncertain
conversion → involve → property
The company argued that it had an exclusive property interest in its Facebook pages and that Meta had unlawfully interfered with those rights by removing them.
asserted
Meta → argue → them
However, the district court dismissed the conversion claim, finding that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protected Meta from liability for decisions involving the publication or removal of third-party content.
uncertain
Section → dismiss → content
Shared appealed the decision to the Ninth Circuit.
asserted
Shared → appeal → Circuit
Why the publisher argued Meta breached its agreement
Before the appeals court, Shared argued that its case was not simply about Meta's decision to remove content.
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case → argue → content
It recast its conversion theory as a breach-of-contract argument, relying on Facebook's Terms of Service.
asserted
It → recast → Service
The company maintained that Meta could suspend or permanently disable an account only when a user had clearly, seriously or repeatedly violated its terms or policies.
uncertain
user → maintain → terms
Shared argued that it had not committed the violations necessary to justify the closure.
asserted
it → argue → closure
It also referred to an earlier Ninth Circuit decision, Calise v. Meta Platforms, which recognised that certain contractual claims could fall outside Section 230 protection when they involved obligations separate from a platform's publishing activities.
uncertain
they → refer → activities
The appeals court rejected this argument, finding that the relevant terms did not establish the separate contractual promise Shared was asserting.
asserted
Shared → reject → promise
Court explains why Section 230 protects Meta
asserted
Section → explain → Meta
The appeals court rejected Shared's arguments on the conversion claim.
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court → reject → claim
Writing for the panel, Circuit Judge Kenneth Lee explained that Section 230 protects online platforms when they act as publishers or speakers of content supplied by others.
asserted
they → write → others
The judges noted that publishing also includes deciding whether to remove content or prevent it from appearing on a platform.
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publishing → note → platform
…and 4 more, not listed.
The Aporia
