Key Takeaways
- Judge allows states’ child addiction claims against Meta to move forward.
- Meta must face trial over platform design and child safety allegations.
- Court finds key disputes require a jury, not dismissal.
A federal judge has rejected Meta Platforms’ effort to dismiss a lawsuit brought by 29 U.S. states, allowing the Meta child addiction lawsuit to move forward over claims that Facebook and Instagram were designed to addict children while ruling in the states’ favor on part of a federal privacy law dispute.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers issued the ruling Monday in Oakland, California. She denied Meta’s motion to dismiss claims alleging deceptive practices, unfair business conduct, and violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, known as COPPA.
The judge also granted summary judgment to the states on claims that Meta failed to meet COPPA’s notice and parental consent requirements. The ruling means those issues will not need to be decided at trial.
Meta disputes allegations, states cite child safety concerns
Meta said it strongly disagrees with the allegations and expects the evidence to support its record on youth safety.
“We strongly disagree with these allegations and are confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people,” the company said in a statement.
The Meta child addiction lawsuit alleges the company knowingly designed Facebook and Instagram to encourage compulsive use among children while concealing potential harms. The states argue research links heavy use of the platforms to depression, anxiety, insomnia, disrupted education and daily life, and self-harm, including suicide.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta welcomed the decision, calling it “a critical win” in efforts to hold Meta accountable for contributing to a mental health crisis affecting American children.
Meta argued that the attorneys general failed to show it misled consumers. The company also maintained that “social media addiction” is not a recognized psychiatric condition and said Facebook and Instagram are intended for a general audience rather than children younger than 13.
Judge says jury must resolve key factual questions
In her 38-page decision, Gonzalez Rogers found there are material factual disputes at the center of the Meta child addiction lawsuit, including whether Meta’s platforms are addictive, whether the company falsely denied designing them that way, and whether it partially directed its services toward children.
“The AGs present a reasonable interpretation of [Meta’s] statements that Facebook and Instagram are not designed in ways that cause teens to compulsively use the platforms to their detriment,” the judge wrote.
She added that if the plaintiffs prove the platforms were designed to encourage compulsive use, “a jury could reasonably find the statements were untrue to a reasonable person.”
The judge also oversees related multidistrict litigation involving more than 2,600 individuals, school districts, and local governments. Those cases challenge whether social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok, contribute to harmful and addictive behavior among children.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers is also expected to preside over a trial covering claims brought by California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey, which is scheduled to begin Aug. 18, according to court records.
