A Blow to Meta: Court Allows Thousands of Lawsuits Over Social Media Addiction to Proceed

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday refused to halt thousands of lawsuits against social media companies accused of creating platforms that put users at risk, finding that Meta and TikTok had requested the appeals court to review the cases before they were ready for such review. In a ruling issued on Monday, the appeals court determined that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act cannot be used by social media companies to immediately dismiss these lawsuits. Instead, the legal protection may be invoked as a defense against potential liability as the litigation proceeds.

The decision allows thousands of cases against Meta, TikTok, and other social media companies to proceed. Many of these lawsuits accuse the companies of deliberately designing platforms that encourage addictive behavior, failing to adequately verify users' ages, and not doing enough to limit exposure to harmful content.

The court's rejection comes amid a new and pivotal trial in a federal court in Oakland, California, which Meta will face starting this Wednesday. Four states—California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey—accuse the company of creating Instagram and Facebook with the deliberate intent of making them addictive to young people.

Jury selection begins on Wednesday. The trial itself will begin on August 18 and is expected to last about six weeks, with a verdict anticipated in early October. The four states accuse Meta of violating their consumer protection laws and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by rolling out features designed to keep minors hooked —such as infinite scrolling, intrusive or late-night notifications, and "like" prompts—while publicly downplaying the risks.