A federal judge has ruled that Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, must face lawsuits brought by US states accusing it of contributing to mental health problems among teenagers by making its platforms addictive.
The decision came as part of ongoing litigation that could have significant implications for the tech giant.
US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, based in Oakland, California, rejected Meta’s attempt to dismiss the claims in two separate lawsuits filed last year.
One of the lawsuits was brought by a coalition of more than 30 states, including California and New York, while the other was filed by the state of Florida.
Although Judge Rogers limited some of the states’ claims by ruling that Section 230, a federal law regulating online platforms, offers Meta partial protection, she concluded that the states had provided enough detail to move forward with most of their case.
Section 230 generally shields tech companies from being held liable for content posted by users, but in this case, the judge found that the states had presented sufficient allegations of misleading statements by Meta about the potential harms of its platforms.
In addition to the states’ lawsuits, the judge also rejected motions to dismiss related personal injury lawsuits brought by individual plaintiffs against Meta and other major tech companies, including ByteDance’s TikTok, Google parent Alphabet’s YouTube, and Snap Inc.’s Snapchat.
While these companies are not named as defendants in the states’ lawsuits, they are facing similar claims from individual users regarding harm caused by their platforms.
The ruling is said to be a significant development, allowing the states and other plaintiffs to gather more evidence and potentially bring the cases to trial. However, it is not a final judgment on the validity of their claims.
In response to the ruling, California Attorney General Rob Bonta reiterated the importance of holding Meta accountable.
“Meta needs to be held accountable for the very real harm it has inflicted on children here in California and across the country,” Bonta said in a statement.
Lawyers representing the personal injury plaintiffs also hailed the judge’s decision as a victory.
In a joint statement, they said, “This is a significant victory for young people nationwide who have been negatively impacted by addictive and harmful social media platforms.”
Boluwatife Enome
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