US court rules Meta, other tech companies must face thousands of lawsuits over social media addiction
A US appeals court has permitted numerous lawsuits against Meta Platforms, Google's Alphabet, ByteDance's TikTok, and Snap Inc's Snapchat to proceed. The companies are accused of intentionally designing their platforms to be addictive to young users, leading to claims of depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues. The San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Meta and TikTok's appeal, stating it was premature as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 only provides a defense, not immunity from lawsuits.
The court's decision comes after a New Mexico judge ruled Meta had created a public nuisance, ordering it to pay $567 million into a teen mental health fund and implement youth-safety measures.
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