Appeals court lets social media addiction lawsuits proceed

Thousands of lawsuits accusing major social media companies of designing addictive platforms that harm children can move forward after a federal appeals court rejected an early bid by Meta, Google, TikTok and Snapchat owner Snap to halt the cases.

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that the companies’ appeal was premature, allowing more than 3,000 lawsuits to continue in federal court in Oakland, California. The cases were filed by states, municipalities, school districts and individual families, who allege the companies knowingly built products that keep young users hooked and contributed to depression, anxiety and other youth mental health harms.

The companies had argued that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act shielded them from the lawsuits. That federal law generally protects online platforms from liability over content posted by users. Meta, Google, Snap and TikTok said the protection also barred claims that they failed to warn the public about the allegedly addictive design of their platforms.

The appeals court disagreed, finding that Section 230 provides a defense to liability, not automatic immunity from being sued.

“Although Section 230 does not expressly provide for immunity from suit, Meta argues that such immunity should be implied. We disagree,” Circuit Judge Jacqueline Hong-Ngoc Nguyen wrote in the opinion.

The ruling came in response to efforts by Alphabet’s Google, Meta, Snap and ByteDance’s TikTok to reverse a lower court decision in California. CBS News reported that Google, Meta, Snap and TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The 9th Circuit panel also denied Meta’s request to delay a trial scheduled to begin Wednesday. That case was brought by 29 state attorneys general who allege Meta illegally collected and used children’s data, designed its platforms to keep young users engaged and misled the public about their safety.

The broader litigation is centralized before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland. Plaintiffs are seeking damages, penalties and restitution.

The lawsuits are part of mounting legal pressure on social media companies over alleged harms to children and teenagers. In March, Meta and YouTube were held legally liable for creating products that led to harmful and addictive behavior by young users, CBS News reported. TikTok and Snap were named in the original complaint but settled before trial began in late January. The jury awarded $6 million to the lead plaintiff.

Al Jazeera, citing Reuters, reported that a Los Angeles jury found Meta and Google negligent in the first such case to reach trial, awarding $6 million to a 20-year-old woman who said she became addicted to Instagram and YouTube as a child.

Meta has also faced separate litigation in New Mexico. Al Jazeera reported that Meta lost both phases of that case, with a jury ordering $375 million in damages over misleading safety claims and a judge later imposing an additional $567 million penalty after finding the company had created a public nuisance. Meta and Google have denied wrongdoing and said they plan to appeal.

Outside the United States, governments are also moving against social media platforms over alleged risks to minors. Al Jazeera reported that France plans to ban children under 15 from social media sites and prohibit mobile phones in high schools from next month, while Australia has imposed a ban on social media for children under 16 and Britain plans one next year. Australia’s law requires major platforms to block under-16 users, with penalties of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars, or $35 million, for companies that fail to comply.