Alleged social media addiction among teenagers, Meta sued by over 30 states in the United States

According to the financial news app Zhitong Finance, on Tuesday, a federal judge in California, USA ruled that Meta, the parent company of Facebook (META.US), must face lawsuits from various states in the United States. The lawsuits accuse Meta of exacerbating mental health issues among teenagers by making the Facebook and Instagram platforms addictive. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers, based in Oakland, rejected Meta's motion to dismiss the charges in two separate lawsuits filed last year by multiple states including California, New York, and more than 30 other states, as well as a lawsuit filed by Florida. However, Rogers imposed some restrictions on the charges from the states. She agreed with Meta's argument that a federal law called Section 230 provides some level of protection for online platforms. Nevertheless, she found that the states had provided enough details regarding the company's alleged deceptive statements to proceed with most of the cases. The judge also denied motions to dismiss personal injury lawsuits brought by individual plaintiffs against Meta, TikTok under ByteDance, YouTube under Google (GOOGL.US), and SnapChat under Snap (SNAP.US). It is important to note that these companies are not defendants in the state lawsuits. This ruling paves the way for the states and other plaintiffs to seek more evidence and potentially proceed to trial. California Attorney General Rob Bonta stated in a release, "Meta needs to be held accountable for the real harm it has caused to children in California and across the country." Lawyers representing the personal injury plaintiffs said in a joint statement that the ruling is a "significant victory for young people nationwide who have been negatively impacted by addictive and harmful social media platforms." A spokesperson for Meta stated that the company generally disagrees with the ruling and mentioned that the company has "developed many tools to support teenagers and their parents," including introducing new "teen accounts" with protective measures on Instagram. A spokesperson for Google stated that the allegations are "simply not true" and mentioned, "Providing a safer, healthier experience for young people has always been at the core of our work." Other social media companies did not immediately respond to requests for comments. Currently, the states are seeking court orders against Meta for alleged illegal business practices and seeking unspecified financial compensation. Various plaintiffs have filed hundreds of lawsuits, accusing social media companies of designing addictive algorithms that lead to anxiety, depression, body image issues among teenagers, without warning them of the risks