Meta Faces Trial in $1.4 Trillion Social Media Addiction Lawsuit
Meta and TikTok failed to dismiss thousands of social media addiction lawsuits as an appeals court rejected their claims for legal immunity. A trial for Meta is set to begin August 19.
Meta Platforms will proceed to trial in a sprawling lawsuit alleging the company's social media platforms contribute to user addiction. The suit, brought by the California attorney general and other state AGs, is scheduled to begin jury selection on August 12 in federal court, with the trial commencing August 19.
The state attorneys general are seeking damages that Meta, in a July court filing, estimated could exceed $1.4 trillion. Meta and TikTok had jointly sought to defeat these and thousands of other similar lawsuits through a single legal ruling, arguing for immunity.
However, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit rejected this argument in a unanimous ruling yesterday. The panel found that Meta and TikTok are not protected from the lawsuits by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which generally shields online platforms from liability for user-generated content.
The appellate court's decision allows the cases to move forward in the district court. This ruling could have significant implications for how social media companies are held accountable for the impact of their platforms on users.