Feb 18 (Reuters) - Grindr ( GRND ), the gay dating app,

is not liable to an anonymous male user for having matched him

with four adult men who raped him when he was 15 years old, a

federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena,

California, said Section 230 of the federal Communications

Decency Act, which protects online platforms from liability over

user content, barred the plaintiff John Doe's state law claims.

These claims included negligence, failure to warn about the

risks of child sexual abuse, and defective design for matching

adults and children for illegal sexual activity.

The decision is a victory for social media platforms such as

Elon Musk's X, Meta Platforms' ( META ) Facebook, and Google's

YouTube that have long sought Section 230's

protections.

Doe said the four men raped him on consecutive days in April

2019, when he was a high school student in a small Nova Scotia

town, after he signed up for Grindr ( GRND ) and falsely represented he

was at least 18.

Three of the men received multi-year prison terms for their

conduct, while the fourth was at large, court papers show.

Writing for a three-judge appeals court panel, Circuit Judge

Sandra Ikuta said Grindr ( GRND ) was not liable solely for publishing

Doe's communications with his attackers because the features

allowing those communications were "content neutral."

She also said Doe did not allege that the West Hollywood,

California-based company actively engaged in sex trafficking,

while Grindr's ( GRND ) statement that its app was "designed to create a

safe and secure environment" was not an enforceable promise.

Carrie Goldberg, a lawyer for Doe, in an email called the

outcome disappointing.

"Grindr ( GRND ) markets to children and recommends them to

geographically proximate adults," she said. "We have faith the

Supreme Court, which has expressed disgust about the overreach

of Section 230, will correct course."

Ambika Kumar, a lawyer for Grindr ( GRND ), declined to comment.

Members of the 9th Circuit panel were appointed by

Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump. Tuesday's

decision upheld a December 2023 dismissal by U.S. District Judge

Otis Wright in Los Angeles, another Bush appointee.