Court Rules 3,000 Social Media Youth Safety Lawsuits Can Move Forward

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled Monday that the companies cannot appeal before trial, finding their challenge to the lower court's rejection of Section 230 immunity was premature. The decision lets more than 3,000 cases proceed in federal court, where they are consolidated before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California.

The lawsuits, filed by families, school districts, and other plaintiffs, accuse the platforms of using features like personalized recommendations, endless scrolling, and notifications to encourage excessive use among minors. Plaintiffs also allege the companies failed to warn about addictive design and did not adequately protect young users from harmful content.

In their appeal, Meta, TikTok, and others argued that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act shields them from liability for user-posted content. The appeals court disagreed, stating the law provides a defense against liability for user content, not immunity from lawsuits, and that the companies had appealed too early.

The ruling comes as the companies face additional legal pressure. Last week, a New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay $567 million into a fund for teen mental health harms, following a jury verdict that found the company violated the state's consumer protection law. Meta said it would appeal. The 9th Circuit also denied Meta's bid to delay a trial in a separate lawsuit brought by 29 state attorneys general over children's data collection and platform design.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs, Lexi Hazam and Previn Warren, said a trial is how the public will learn what Meta knew about its products' impact on children. The companies have fought to keep that evidence from the public, they added.