July 25 (Reuters) - Several social media companies

should not be held liable for helping an avowed white

supremacist who killed 10 Black people in 2022 at a Buffalo, New

York grocery store, a divided New York state appeals court ruled

on Friday.

Reversing a lower court ruling, the state Appellate Division

in Rochester said defendants including Meta Platforms' ( META )

Facebook and Instagram, Google's YouTube, and Reddit

were entitled to immunity under a federal law that protects

online platforms from liability over user content.

The plaintiffs included relatives or representatives of

people who died in Peyton Gendron's racially motivated mass

shooting at Tops Friendly Markets on May 14, 2022, as well as

store employees and customers who witnessed it.