Court Rules 3,000 Social Media Youth Safety Lawsuits Can Move Forward

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled Monday that Meta, Google, TikTok, Snap and other platforms must face more than 3,000 lawsuits accusing them of designing addictive products for young users. The court said the companies appealed too early to challenge a lower court's rejection of their Section 230 immunity defense.

The companies had argued that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act shields them from liability for user-generated content, and they sought to appeal before trial. But the appellate court held that Section 230 is a defense against liability, not immunity from lawsuits, and that the appeal was premature.

The lawsuits, consolidated before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, claim platforms used features like personalized recommendations, endless scrolling and notifications to encourage excessive use. Plaintiffs include families, school districts and others who say the companies failed to protect minors from harmful content.

Attorneys for plaintiffs suing Meta said a trial would reveal what the company knew about its products' impact on children. The ruling comes as Meta faces additional legal pressure, including a New Mexico court order last week to pay $567 million for a teen mental health fund and a trial in a case brought by 29 state attorneys general over children's data collection.

The 9th Circuit also denied Meta's request to delay that trial, which was set to begin this week. The companies have said they will appeal the New Mexico ruling.