A U.S. Appeals court just dealt Meta a big blow in the company's long fight against social media addiction lawsuits.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an appeals request from Meta, allowing the social media giant and its co-defendants TikTok-owner ByteDance, YouTube-owner Google and Snapchat-owner Snap to face more than 3,000 social media addiction lawsuits.

Landmark verdict opens the floodgates

Meta lost a key, bellwether social media trial earlier this year. In that case, a now-20-year-old woman identified as K.G.M. argued that deliberately addictive design features on Instagram and other platforms got her hooked at a young age. That addiction, she said, worsened mental health problems such as depression, body image issues, and anxiety. The judge ruled in her favor, creating a watershed moment that invited thousands of similar lawsuits.

Until that verdict, Meta and other social media operators were generally seen as shielded from such litigation by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which says platform operators cannot be held liable for third-party content posted on their platforms. The March verdict set a precedent for holding social media companies accountable by focusing on addictive design features like infinite scroll and autoplay rather than user-generated content.

Appeals court rejects early immunity claim

Meta had argued that it was legally immune to accusations that its platforms harmed users under Section 230. It also claimed the law provided legal protection from claims brought by school districts and state attorneys general in substantial part, according to the appeals court. A district court rejected that defense, and Meta appealed.

The appeals court did not necessarily strike down Meta's Section 230 argument. Instead, it ruled that Meta had acted prematurely and appealed too early. Section 230, the court said, offers only a defense against liability, not immunity from being sued. That distinction means Meta will have to face trial in the mounting pile of cases.

Schools and states join the fight

Alongside individual victims like K.G.M., school districts around the nation have sued Meta, Snap, Google and ByteDance. They claim the platforms have had a devastating effect on the mental health of school-age children, placing an enormous burden on the American education system.

Meta

Source:Gizmodo News