Difficulty prosecutors in the state of New York must file a complaint against Meta Platforms Inc., which alleges it deliberately contributed to a youth mental health crisis by converting kids to social media.
A federal judge in , California , on Tuesday sided with 34 attorneys general in allowing some of the states over Meta ‘s , Facebook , and Instagram platforms to proceed in sprawling litigation over the harmful effects of social media.
U. S. District Judge , Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who issued the decision, is overseeing thousands of lawsuits alleging that a handful of social media companies — including Google’s YouTube, ByteDance’s TikTok and Snap, as well as Meta — have profited from the habit of young folks to their products. Only the claims made by the state prosecutors common against Meta are those that are addressed by Tuesday’s ruling.
The attorneys general have alleged that despite research showing , Facebook , and Instagram use is associated with depression and other mental health issues, Meta wo n’t remove the platforms ‘ harmful features. Additionally, they asserted that Meta fraudulently gathered information from children under the age of 13. In addition to being sued in October, TikTok was sued over comparable claims in 13 state authorities and in Washington, D.C. The says accused the firm of deceiving consumers about its platform’s child safety features and using dangerous functions to prolong their use to maximize profits. The promises were described as “inaccurate and misleading” by a TikTok director.
A Meta director said the business disagrees with the general decision despite applauding the departure of some states under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a enduring national law protecting internet companies from lawsuits.
We’ve developed a number of resources to support parents and teenagers, and we just announced that we’re significantly altering the Instagram practice for tens of millions of teenagers with new Teen Accounts, a guarded experience for teenagers that instantly limits who can phone them and the content they see, according to a spokesperson in an email. We think the evidence does show how committed we are to helping young people.
Meta’s stock fell about 1 % after the ruling to$ 581.77 before rising to$ 586.27 at the close of , New York , trading.
According to Rogers,” Meta’s alleged yearslong public plan of fraud as to the risks” of social media addiction and child mental health damage is a possible violation of state and federal regulations against dishonest and unfair business practices. However, she claimed that Section 230 “provides a fairly significant limitation on these claims.”
According to Rogers, Section 230 prevents the states from challenging certain platform features like “infinite scroll” and the display of likes on a post. But the states can challenge “appearance-altering filters” that allegedly promotes body dysmorphia among young people, she said, while declining to dismiss claims about the company’s failure to warn about the known risks of addiction.
Additionally, the judge entered a decision regarding individual personal injury claims brought by hundreds of young people and children against the major social media platforms. She came to the conclusion that some claims can be brought in because of consumer protection laws being broken.
Lexi Hazam , and , Previn Warren, lead lawyers for the plaintiffs, hailed the decision, saying it confirms that the companies “must face our claims that they failed to warn of significant risks to users ‘ safety and mental health, and that they engaged in deceptive marketing and business tactics”.
Additionally, the social media companies are suing hundreds of public school districts for claims that the platforms have caused a public annoyance. In June, the businesses won a decision to dismiss claims made by some districts in state court in , Los Angeles. On a request for the dismissal of cases consolidated in her court, Rogers has not yet ruled.
The case is People of the , State of California , v.  , Meta Platforms Inc., 4: 23-cv-05448,  , US District Court, Northern District , of , California , ( Oakland ).
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