US court rules Meta, other tech companies must face thousands of lawsuits over social media addiction

A US appeals court on Monday cleared the way for thousands of lawsuits against Meta Platforms, Alphabet’s Google, ByteDance’s TikTok and other social media companies to continue.

The lawsuits accuse the companies of deliberately designing their platforms in ways that can make them addictive to children and teenagers.

The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco rejected the companies’ attempt to halt the litigation, ruling that their appeal had been filed too early.

The companies, which also include Snap’s Snapchat, had argued that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects them from lawsuits alleging that they failed to warn users about the potentially addictive nature of their platforms.

Meta maintained that the law gave it broad immunity and allowed it to immediately challenge the lower court’s decision. However, the appeals court ruled that Section 230 provides a defence against liability rather than immunity from being sued, meaning the companies could not appeal at this stage.

The court also refused Meta’s request to delay a trial involving 29 state attorneys general, which is scheduled to begin Wednesday. The states accuse Meta of improperly collecting and using children’s data, designing its platforms to keep young users engaged and misleading the public about the safety of its services.

Meta had argued that the trial should be postponed while its appeal was pending, but the court rejected that request.

The broader litigation involves more than 3,000 federal cases brought by parents, individuals, schools, municipalities and state governments. The plaintiffs claim that social media companies intentionally encouraged addictive use among young people, contributing to rising levels of depression, anxiety, body-image problems and other mental health concerns.

The cases have been consolidated before US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, while thousands of similar claims are also pending in state courts.

The companies have already suffered setbacks in some of the related cases. In March, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and Google negligent for designing platforms that harmed young users and awarded $6 million to a woman who said she became addicted to Instagram and YouTube as a child.

In another major case, a New Mexico jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million after finding that the company had misled consumers about the safety of its platforms.

Meta also faced another significant ruling in New Mexico last week, when a judge found that the company had created a public nuisance and ordered it to pay an additional $567 million while implementing measures aimed at improving youth safety.

Meta and Google have denied the allegations in those cases and have said they plan to appeal. The latest appeals court decision could therefore have significant implications for the growing number of lawsuits examining whether social media companies should be held responsible for the impact of their platform designs on young users.