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`NOT PRECEDENTIAL
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`UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
`FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
`___________
`
`No. 22-3060
`__________
`
`AMRO A. ELANSARI,
`
`
`Appellant
`
`
`
`
`v.
`
`META, INC.,
`doing business as FACEBOOK
`____________________________________
`
`On Appeal from the United States District Court
`for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
`(D.C. Civil Action No. 2-21-cv-05325)
`District Judge: Honorable Joel H. Slomsky
`____________________________________
`
`Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a)
`November 1, 2023
`
`Before: JORDAN, PHIPPS and NYGAARD, Circuit Judges
`
`(Opinion filed: January 16, 2024 )
`___________
`
`OPINION*
`___________
`
`
`PER CURIAM
`
`
`
`
`* This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not
`constitute binding precedent.
`
`
`
`
`
`Pro se Appellant Amro Elansari sued Defendant Meta, Inc.,1 (“Meta”) doing
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`business as Facebook. Elansari seeks to hold Meta liable for allegedly removing an
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`unspecified amount of Muslim and/or Palestinian content while preserving unspecified
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`Jewish and/or Israeli content, and for allegedly banning unspecified Muslim users—with
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`the exception of the “Al-Qastal News” organization (“Al-Qastal”)—while allowing
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`unspecified Jewish users to continue to use Meta’s service. He alleges that Meta engaged
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`in unlawful discrimination on the basis of religion in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 2000a,
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`commonly known as Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title II”). He also pleads
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`in the alternative that Meta racially discriminated in its contractual relationships in
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`violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981. Elansari further alleges negligent and fraudulent
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`representation in violation of state law. Meta timely filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to
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`Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6), and Elansari timely responded.
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`The District Court granted Meta’s motion, holding that (1) Title II did not apply to Meta
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`as it is not a place of public accommodation under Third Circuit law; (2) Elansari did not
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`allege that Meta discriminated against him personally; (3) Elansari failed to present
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`sufficient factual matter to support his claims; and (4) even were this not so, § 230 of the
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`Communications Decency Act barred his complaint in its entirety. Elansari appealed.
`
`
`
`We have appellate jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 1291. We review de novo the
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`grant of a motion to dismiss, and “[i]n doing so, we accept all factual allegations in the
`
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`1 Meta identifies itself as Meta Platforms, Inc., but did not move to correct the record.
`
`
`2
`
`
`
`
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`complaint as true and construe those facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff[].”
`
`Newark Cab Ass’n. v. City of Newark, 901 F.3d 146, 151 (3d Cir. 2018). “To survive a
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`motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual allegations, taken as true,
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`to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Fleisher v. Standard Ins., 679 F.3d
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`116, 120 (3d Cir. 2012) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)).
`
`Elansari does not allege that he owned, created, controlled, or had personal
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`involvement with the allegedly removed content in any capacity other than as someone
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`who had previously viewed it as a member of the public, nor does he allege any personal
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`involvement with the allegedly banned users, including Al-Qastal. Likewise, he does not
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`argue that he was denied the same level of service that Meta offers to all of its users.
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`Rather, Elansari argues that he is entitled to relief “as a Muslim being discriminated
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`against by the Defendant in having their news and information sources banned while
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`Jewish news and information sources are not banned.” Compl. ¶ 17
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`Meta argues that Elansari lacks standing to bring his complaint.2 To establish
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`standing, Elansari “bears the burden of establishing: ‘(1) an injury-in-fact; (2) that is
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`fairly traceable to the defendant’s challenged conduct; and (3) that is likely to be
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`redressed by a favorable judicial decision.’” Kelly v. RealPage Inc., 47 F.4th 202, 211
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`(3d Cir. 2022) (quoting St. Pierre v. Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau, Inc., 898 F.3d
`
`
`2 Although the District Court did not address the issue of standing, it goes to subject
`matter jurisdiction, which must be ascertained, see Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better
`Env’t, 523 U.S. 83, 95 (1998), and cannot be forfeited or waived. See United States v.
`Cotton, 535 U.S. 625, 630 (2002).
`
`3
`
`
`
`
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`351, 356 (3d Cir. 2018). An injury-in-fact must be “concrete, particularized, and actual
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`or imminent.” See TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez, 141 S.Ct. 2190, 2203 (2021) (citing
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`Lujan v. Defs. of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560–61 (1992)). “Essentially, the standing
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`question… is whether the constitutional or statutory provision on which the claim rests
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`properly can be understood as granting persons in the plaintiff’s position a right to
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`judicial relief.” Warth v. Selden, 422 U.S. 490, 500 (1975).
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`Informational injuries generally relate to requests for information under specific
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`legislation, such as the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Federal Election Campaign
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`Act, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. See, e.g., Public Citizen v. U.S. Dept. of Justice,
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`491 U.S. 440, 443 (1989); Fed. Elec. Com’n v. Akins, 524 U.S. 11, 13–14 (1998);
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`Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 578 U.S. 330, 333–35 (2016); TransUnion, 141 S.Ct. at 2200;
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`and Kelly, 47 F.4th at 205. To establish standing under the informational injury doctrine,
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`“a plaintiff need only allege that she was denied information to which she was legally
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`entitled, and that the denial caused some adverse consequence related to the purpose of
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`the statute.” Kelly, 47 F.4th at 212. The instant case relates to a plaintiff’s request for a
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`court order mandating either the publication of the plaintiff’s preferred third-party
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`content on a social media platform or the removal of his disfavored third-party content
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`from that platform.
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`As “entitlement to the information allegedly withheld is the sine qua non of the
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`informational injury doctrine,” Huber v. Simon’s Agency, Inc., No. 22-2483, 2023 WL
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`6629836, at *5 (3d Cir. Oct. 12, 2023), Elansari fails to establish standing under this
`4
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`doctrine because he does not show that he is legally entitled to the publication of the
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`requested content or the removal of other content. Elansari makes conclusory and vague
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`references to Meta’s Terms of Use document, but does not point to specific language
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`entitling him to the relief he seeks. Nor does he invoke a statute that creates a right to
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`information, such as the statutes referenced above.
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`Instead, Elansari relies on Title II, which bars certain forms of discrimination but
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`does not create a right to information. Moreover, this statute cannot be understood as
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`granting him a right to relief because he does not allege that he was personally denied the
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`“full and equal enjoyment” of Meta’s service or that he could not access the same content
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`as any other Meta user, let alone that he could not do so on the basis of his race or
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`religion. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000a(a). Additionally, Title II does not entitle Elansari to a
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`right to relief because Meta is not a “place of public accommodation.” See Ford v.
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`Schering-Plough Corp., 145 F.3d 601, 612–14 (3d Cir. 1998) (holding that Title II is
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`limited to physical structures and accommodations).3
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`Furthermore, Elansari seeks to hold Meta liable for its decisions regarding which
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`content to publish, but § 230 of the Communications Decency Act “‘precludes courts
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`3 In his brief, Elansari asks us to overrule our precedent on this matter, but because one
`panel cannot overrule another, see Reilly v. City of Harrisburg, 858 F.3d 173, 177 (3d
`Cir. 2017), we remain bound by precedent and cannot extend Title II to digital venues,
`even if we were so inclined. We also note that by focusing exclusively on Title II in his
`brief, Elansari has forfeited all other issues raised in his complaint. See In re: Asbestos
`Prod. Liab. Litig. (No. VI), 873 F.3d 232, 237 (3d Cir. 2017) (citing McCray v. Fidelity
`Nat’l Ins. Co., 682 F.3d 229, 241 (3d Cir. 2012)).
`5
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`
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`
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`from entertaining claims that would place a computer service provider in a publisher’s
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`role,’ and therefore bars ‘lawsuits seeking to hold a service provider liable for its exercise
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`of a publisher’s traditional editorial functions – such as deciding whether to publish,
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`withdraw, postpone, or alter content.’” Green v. America Online (AOL), 318 F.3d 465,
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`471 (3d Cir. 2003) (quoting Zeran v. America Online, Inc., 129 F.3d 327, 330 (4th Cir.
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`1997)). In sum, Elansari presents no support, nor are we familiar with any, to ground his
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`liberally construed argument that he is legally entitled to relief because Meta does not
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`publish his preferred racial or religious content.
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`Accordingly, we agree with Meta that Elansari lacks standing, and will affirm the
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`judgment of the District Court.
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`
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`
`
`6
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`
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