Appeals court rejects Section 230 defense, allowing thousands of social-media addiction suits to proceed
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Meta, Google, TikTok and Snapchat cannot use Section 230 to dismiss lawsuits alleging their platforms are designed to be addictive to youth, permitting the cases to move forward.
A federal appeals court has denied a bid by Meta, Google, TikTok and Snapchat to dismiss more than 3,000 lawsuits that claim the companies designed their platforms to be addictive for young users. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the firms appealed too early, noting that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act provides a defense to liability but does not grant immunity from suit.
Judge Jacqueline Nguyen wrote that the statute "merely provides a defense to liability — not immunity from suit." The decision allows plaintiffs to pursue claims that the platforms encourage addictive behavior, fail to verify users' ages, and inadequately block harmful content.
The panel also rejected Meta's request to postpone a trial scheduled for Wednesday in a case brought by 29 state attorneys general alleging illegal collection of children's data, design of addictive features, and misleading consumer statements about child safety.
Attorneys representing school districts and other plaintiffs said the ruling enables the state-level trial and a separate case filed by school districts to proceed.
The ruling follows recent state court judgments, including a New Mexico order requiring Meta to pay $567 million into a teen mental-health fund and adopt youth-safety measures, and jury verdicts in California and New Mexico against Meta and Google’s YouTube over child-safety concerns.