Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and Google will continue facing thousands of lawsuits alleging that their social media platforms were intentionally designed to be addictive to minors.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco rejected the companies’ attempt to use Section 230 protections to avoid the litigation, according to Reuters. Section 230 generally protects online platforms from liability for content posted by users.
The companies argued that those protections should also apply to claims that they failed to warn users about allegedly addictive design choices. The court, however, said the appeal may have been filed too early because this type of challenge typically comes after a trial.
Thousands of lawsuits will move forward
The cases have been brought by individuals, state and local governments, and school districts. Thousands of lawsuits have been consolidated into a single federal proceeding and can now continue.
The ruling does not determine whether the platforms are ultimately responsible for the alleged harms, leaving that question to further litigation.
The companies are already facing growing legal pressure over child safety. Meta has lost two jury trials involving similar allegations, marking the first times the company has been held liable by juries over child safety concerns.
