OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA / RankWire.AI / – More than 3,000 federal lawsuits alleging social media addiction are permitted to proceed after a U.S. appeals court’s decision. On Aug. 10, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed appeals from Meta Platforms and TikTok that aimed to halt the ongoing litigation. The companies challenged lower court rulings that allowed the cases to move forward, but the appeals court found they filed their appeal prematurely. The consolidated federal proceedings are overseen by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland.
Part of the dispute involves Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which Meta and TikTok claimed protected them from claims related to warnings about the platforms’ alleged addictive nature. The court clarified that Section 230 offers a defense against liability, not complete immunity from lawsuits, which is why an immediate appeal was not granted. The decision maintained earlier orders from the federal trial court without ruling on whether the companies are ultimately liable.
The plaintiffs range from individuals and families to school districts, municipalities, and states. They accuse Meta, Alphabet’s Google, ByteDance’s TikTok, and Snap of designing features that promote compulsive usage among minors. These lawsuits connect the companies’ alleged design choices to harms such as depression, anxiety, body image issues, and other problems. The defendants have denied these allegations. Plaintiffs seek damages, penalties, and restitution through the federal case, while approximately 3,300 additional similar cases are consolidated in California state court.
Meta’s separate Oakland trial advances despite legal challenges
The appellate court also rejected Meta’s request to delay a separate case initiated by 29 state attorneys general. Jury selection is set to start on Aug. 12 in Oakland, with opening statements scheduled for Aug. 18. The states accuse Meta of unlawfully collecting and exploiting children’s data, and allege that Facebook and Instagram employed features encouraging addictive use while Meta misled consumers about platform safety. Meta has denied these allegations in the multistate lawsuit.
This trial encompasses claims under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act along with multiple state consumer protection statutes. Claims from California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey are also included in the proceedings. A federal judge previously rejected Meta’s motion to dismiss the case before trial, citing factual disputes that require further examination. Four states have presented calculations seeking significant penalties if they prevail, although Meta challenges both the calculations and their legal foundation.
Previous rulings contribute to ongoing social media legal battles
These federal cases are part of a broader legal landscape involving youth safety and platform design. On Aug. 6, a judge in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay $567 million into a youth mental health fund and related programs, and also mandated safety measures for Facebook and Instagram for five years. This followed a March ruling where a New Mexico jury imposed a $375 million civil penalty, resulting in a combined exposure of $942 million for Meta in that jurisdiction.
In another case, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and Google negligent in designing Instagram and YouTube, awarding $6 million to a young woman who claimed to have become addicted to these platforms as a child and suffered mental health issues. TikTok and Snap reached settlements with the plaintiff before trial on undisclosed terms. Meta and Google stated they plan to appeal the verdict in California.