BUSINESS-ECONOMY
Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, faces a lawsuit by US states that accuse it of having contributed to mental health problems in teens by making Facebook and Instagram addictive, a federal judge in California said on Tuesday. Oakland-based US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers rejected Meta's bid to dismiss claims made against it in the two separate lawsuits that were filed last year, one involving more than 30 states, including California and New York and the other brought by Florida. Rogers put some limits on the states' claims, siding with Meta that a federal law called Section 230, which controls online platforms, partly protected the company. But she ruled that the states had produced enough evidence about allegedly false statements Meta had made to let most of the case continue. The judge refused to dismiss related personal injury lawsuits by individual plaintiffs against Meta, ByteDance's TikTok, Google parent Alphabet's YouTube, and Snap's Snapchat. The other companies are not defendants in the states' lawsuits. The ruling allows states and other plaintiffs to seek additional evidence and possibly head to trial. It is not an ultimate ruling on the merits of their cases. "Meta needs to be held accountable for the very real harm it has inflicted on children here in California and across the country," California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. Lawyers for the personal injury plaintiffs, in a joint statement, called the ruling "a significant victory for young people nationwide who have been negatively impacted by addictive and harmful social media platforms." A Meta spokesperson says that the company disagreed with the ruling overall and that it had "developed numerous tools to support parents and teens," including new "Teen Accounts" on Instagram with added protections. A Google representative called the charges "simply not true" and added, "providing young people with a safer, healthier experience has always been core to our work.". The other social media companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The states are also asking the court to stop Meta's allegedly unlawful business practices and seek unspecified monetary damages. Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed by various plaintiffs who accuse the social media companies of having designed addictive algorithms that cause teenagers to suffer anxiety, depression, and body-image issues and failing to warn of their risks. This article includes reporting from Reuters. None
What’s New
Spotlight
Advertisement
Featured News
Latest From This Week
Popular News
