Meta faces thousands of lawsuits over social media addiction

The US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday granted permission for hundreds of lawsuits to proceed against Meta Platforms, Google, ByteDance, TikTok, and other social media firms. The appeals court rejected the defendants' effort to overturn a previous ruling that compelled them to face over 3,000 lawsuits claiming the companies designed their platforms to be addictive to young users.

The defendants, which also include Snapchat, argued that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which generally protects online companies from claims over content posted by their users, also barred lawsuits alleging they failed to warn about the addictive nature of their platforms. However, the 9th Circuit ruled that Section 230 provides a defense to liability, not immunity from lawsuits, rendering the appeal premature.

The court also denied Meta's attempt to delay a trial beginning the following day in a lawsuit filed by 29 state attorneys general alleging the company illegally collected and used children's data, designed their platforms to keep young users hooked, and misled consumers about their safety.