A federal appeals court in the United States has allowed thousands of lawsuits against Meta, Google, TikTok, Snapchat and other social media companies to proceed. The cases allege the companies designed addictive products that harmed children, and the court rejected the companies’ initial attempts to stop the litigation before trial.
The San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals said the companies’ appeal was premature because most appeals are filed after a case ends with a ruling or verdict. The decision leaves the lawsuits before trial courts, including a case against Meta brought by 29 state attorneys general that was scheduled to begin on Wednesday.
Why the court rejected the early appeal
The companies argued that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which generally shields online platforms from liability for user-generated and user-posted content, also protected them from claims that they failed to warn the public about addictive platform design.
The appeals court disagreed, finding that Section 230 provides a defence to liability rather than blanket immunity from being sued. That distinction meant the companies could not use the provision to end the cases at this stage.
Related coverage: How a landmark court case proved Meta and Google built addictive social media platforms.
What the Meta trial involves
The 29 state attorneys general allege that Meta illegally collected and used children’s data, engineered its platforms to keep young users hooked and misled the public about their safety. Meta asked the appeals court to delay the trial, but the panel denied that request.
The wider litigation includes cases filed by states, municipalities, school districts and individual families. They allege that the companies knowingly built addictive products that contributed to depression, anxiety and broader youth mental-health crises. The cases are centralised before US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, where plaintiffs are seeking damages, penalties and restitution.
Earlier verdicts and wider policy pressure
A jury in Los Angeles has already found Meta and Google negligent in the first such case to reach trial, awarding $6m to a 20-year-old woman who said she became addicted to Instagram and YouTube as a child. Meta also lost both phases of a New Mexico lawsuit, where a jury ordered $375m in damages and a judge later imposed an additional $567m penalty after finding that the company had created a public nuisance.
Meta and Google have denied wrongdoing and said they plan to appeal. The US cases come as governments elsewhere pursue restrictions linked to alleged harms to children and teenagers, including self-harm and eating disorders. France plans to ban social media use by under-15s and prohibit mobile phones in high schools from next month; Australia has imposed a ban, while Britain plans one next year.
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