A federal judge has ruled that major tech companies must face lawsuits brought by school districts alleging their social media apps have contributed to a mental health crisis among students. The lawsuits target Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, Google, China’s TikTok, and Snapchat.
Bloomberg reports that U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, has allowed lawsuits against Meta, Google, TikTok, and Snap to proceed in federal court. The decision comes after a contrasting ruling by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge in June, which favored the tech giants.
The lawsuits, filed by school districts, accuse the companies of designing “addictive” apps that have contributed to a mental health crisis among students. The districts argue that the platforms were engineered to addict kids by using algorithms and features such as the “like” button, causing harm to society in a manner similar to cigarette manufacturers who designed their products to be addictive.
Judge Rogers denied the companies’ request to dismiss negligence claims, although she narrowed the scope of allegations that will move forward. She concluded that some claims are barred by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a federal law that shields internet companies from lawsuits.
The ruling follows another decision by Judge Rogers just over a week ago, in which she ruled that Meta must face a lawsuit brought by dozens of state attorneys general alleging that the company knowingly hooked kids on its Facebook and Instagram platforms. […]
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