U.S. Appeals Court Lets Meta, Google, TikTok, Snap Face Thousands of Social Media Addiction Lawsuits

A U.S. appeals court on Monday allowed thousands of lawsuits to proceed against Meta Platforms, Alphabet's Google, ByteDance's TikTok, and Snap Inc., over claims that their products were designed to cause addiction among young users.

“rejected an appeal by Meta and TikTok seeking to overturn a lower court ruling requiring them to face more than 3,000 lawsuits”

Emirates 24|7

The 9th U.S. 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 court, saying the companies had appealed prematurely.

Al Jazeera

The lawsuits, filed by states, municipalities, school districts, and individuals, allege the companies deliberately fostered addiction among youth and contributed to rising rates of depression, anxiety, body image issues, and a broader mental health crisis among American youth in recent years.

In a separate ruling, the court rejected Meta's bid to postpone a trial beginning on Wednesday in a lawsuit brought by 29 state attorneys general alleging the company illegally collected and used children's data, designed its social media platforms to keep young users hooked, and misled consumers about their safety.

The companies argued that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 should shield them from liability, but the 9th Circuit said Section 230 provides a defense to liability, not immunity from lawsuits, so the appeal was premature.

In its opinion, the court said Section 230 “merely provides a defense to liability—not immunity from suit,” according to The Hill’s account of Judge Jacqueline Nguyen’s writing for the three-judge panel.

CBS News

In March, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and Google negligent for designing social media platforms that harm young people, and the jury awarded $6 million to a young woman who said she became addicted to Instagram and YouTube as a child.

The Hill also reported that the case brought by a 20-year-old named K.G.M. was part of a consolidated set of thousands of lawsuits brought by individuals, school districts and states against multiple social media companies.

As the federal litigation moves forward, the cases are centralized before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, seeking damages, penalties and restitution from the companies.

“The cases, which have been centralized before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California”

KSL News

The San Francisco appeals court’s decision also kept alive a broader wave of similar claims, with KSL News reporting approximately 3,300 lawsuits consolidated in California state court alongside hundreds of additional lawsuits in state court.

KSL News said Meta was facing a trial over allegations that it illegally collected and used children's data and misled consumers about safety, and it quoted attorneys for the plaintiffs saying the ruling was Meta's last "procedural off-ramp" before the trial starting this week.

Separately, Reuters reporting cited by Social Media Today said Meta could face costs that exceed $1.4 trillion overall, while Meta’s market cap was described as around $1.5 trillion, as the company prepared for a Federal Court trial over the merits of the addiction claims.