US court rules Meta, other tech companies must face thousands of lawsuits over social media addiction
The panel said the companies appealed too early, leaving about 2,400 federal cases over addictive design claims to move forward.
- On Monday, the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals allowed thousands of lawsuits to proceed against Meta Platforms, Alphabet's Google, and ByteDance's TikTok over claims they designed their products to be addictive to young users.
- Filed by parents, school districts, and states, the lawsuits allege that social media companies intentionally addicted young users, contributing to surging depression, anxiety, and body-image issues among American youth in recent years.
- The companies argued that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act shielded them from liability, but the 9th Circuit ruled the appeal was premature, noting that most appeals occur only after a trial concludes.
- A judge on Thursday ordered Meta to pay $567 million for public nuisance and implement youth-safety measures. The court also denied Meta's bid to postpone a trial beginning Wednesday regarding data collection and safety practices.
- With approximately 3,300 lawsuits consolidated in California state court, the legal battle continues as experts suggest the debate over whether federal law applies to platform design claims could have broad implications for the tech industry.
62 Articles
62 Articles
Meta, tech peers face thousands of lawsuits over social media addiction claims
Washington: A US appeals court on Monday allowed thousands of lawsuits to proceed against Meta Platforms, Alphabet's Google, ByteDance's TikTok, and Snap Inc., over allegations that their products were designed to cause addiction among young users.The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco rejected an appeal by Meta and TikTok seeking to overturn a lower court ruling requiring them to face more than 3,000 lawsuits pending in federal co…
US court rules Meta, others must face thousands of social media addiction suits
A US appeals court allows over 3,000 lawsuits against Meta, Google, TikTok, and Snapchat to proceed, claiming these companies designed their products to be addictive to young users
US court allows thousands of lawsuits against Meta, other social networks to continueA US appeals court has allowed more than 3,000 lawsuits against Meta, Google, TikTok and Snapchat to continue. The companies are accused of creating platforms that are addictive to young users.
Meta, TikTok, Google Must Face 3,000+ Addiction Lawsuits
Meta, TikTok, Google and Snap will have to face more than 3,000 lawsuits accusing the tech giants of designing their social media platforms to addict young users after a federal appeals court rejected their bid to immediately appeal the litigation Monday. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the companies’ attempt to immediately appeal an earlier ruling allowing the cases to proceed, concluding that the appeal came too early in the lit…
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