Court greenlights school lawsuits against social media giants Meta, Google, TikTok, Snap

Social media giants must face lawsuits filed by school districts across the country, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled this week that the platforms are addictive and harming the nation’s youth.

Meta, Google, TikTok and Snap will indeed go to court to deal with the large damages cases, which will continue in a narrower scope, Rogers ruled. This comes despite a ruling to the contrary by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge this summer, Bloomberg reported. As a result, the companies will not face hundreds of Los Angeles claims, but will be liable for more than 150 additional cases.

In the ruling, Rogers agreed that the companies “deliberately encouraged the compulsive use of their platforms” by students, which placed a burden on school districts. Other claims would be thrown under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects Internet users and providers from most civil lawsuits.

Meta, Google and Snap have denied the allegations in the lawsuit. TikTok has not specifically commented on the decision, but has expressed its safety efforts for teens in the past. Last week, the same judge in California ruled that The meta must cope joint lawsuits from 34 prosecutors alleging the company’s social media platforms are exacerbating the mental health crisis among young people. Earlier this month, a similar coalition of district attorneys filed suit lawsuits against TikTok for “addictive algorithm” and false safety marketing – internal documents disclosed in the case found that TikTok executives were aware of the addictive nature from its For you page.

Rogers oversaw dozens of such cases, including a major class action filing against Meta, Google’s parent company Alphabet, and several other social media companies created by parents and their children. One The 2023 decision In connection with the case, Rogers said the social media platforms could be sued for negligence related to “defective products” but would not pursue claims that the private messaging tools, notifications and algorithmic recommendations connect minors to adults and cause damages. , again citing Section 230.