SAN FRANCISCO: A US appeals court has allowed thousands of lawsuits against major social media companies to proceed over claims that their platforms were deliberately designed to be addictive to children and teenagers.
The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday rejected an appeal by Meta and TikTok seeking to overturn a lower court decision requiring them to face more than 3,000 federal lawsuits.
The litigation also involves Google and Snapchat owner Snap, with cases brought by individuals, school districts, municipalities and US states.
Meta and TikTok argued that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which generally protects online platforms from liability for content posted by users, should shield them from claims that they failed to warn about the addictive nature of their services.
However, the appeals court ruled that Section 230 provides a defence against liability rather than immunity from being sued, making the companies’ appeal premature.
Meta trial to proceed
The court separately rejected Meta’s request to delay a trial involving 29 state attorneys general, allowing proceedings to begin on Wednesday.
The states claim Meta collected and used children’s data unlawfully, designed Facebook and Instagram to keep young users engaged and misled consumers about platform safety.
ALSO READ: Meta Pushes Global AI Vision as Race with OpenAI, Anthropic and China Intensifies
The wider lawsuits claim social media companies contributed to depression, anxiety, body-image concerns and other mental health problems among young users.
The federal cases have been consolidated before US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California.
Meta and Google have denied similar claims in previous cases and have said they would appeal adverse rulings.
