A U.S. appeals court has allowed thousands of lawsuits to move forward against social media companies, including Meta Platforms, Alphabet’s Google, and ByteDance’s TikTok, over claims they designed their products to be addictive to young users.
Lawsuits Alleging Addiction and Harm
The lawsuits, filed by states, municipalities, school districts, and individuals, allege that social media companies intentionally addicted young users, contributing to surging depression, anxiety, and body-image issues and a broader mental health crisis among American youth in recent years.
The companies had argued that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 shields them from lawsuits over content posted by their users, but the court said this does not apply to claims related to how they operate and design their products.
The cases, which have been centralized before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, seek damages, penalties, and restitution from the companies.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
