US Appeals Court: Social Media Addiction Lawsuits Can Proceed

A U.S. appeals court has cleared the way for thousands of lawsuits against Meta, Google, TikTok and Snapchat over allegations that their platforms were designed to encourage addictive use among young people.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday rejected an attempt by Meta and TikTok to immediately challenge a lower court ruling that allows more than 3,000 federal lawsuits to proceed. The companies had argued that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protected them from claims that they failed to warn users about the potentially addictive nature of their platforms.

The appeals court said the companies had appealed too early. Its ruling held that Section 230 provides a defense against liability rather than immunity from being sued, meaning the companies generally must wait for the underlying litigation to reach a later stage before pursuing an appeal on that basis.

The federal cases have been consolidated before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California. Plaintiffs include parents, individuals and school districts, alongside state and local governments. They allege that social media companies deliberately designed products to keep young users engaged and that this contributed to problems including depression, anxiety and body-image issues.

The ruling also allows a separate lawsuit brought by 29 state attorneys general against Meta to proceed to trial. The states allege that Meta improperly collected children’s data, designed its platforms to maintain engagement among young users and misled consumers about safety. Meta had sought to delay the trial while its appeal was pending.