Federal Judge Allows Claims Against Meta, Google, TikTok and Snap

Meta, Google, TikTok and Snapchat must defend themselves against claims that their platforms are designed to “foster compulsive use by minors,” the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled Tuesday (docket 4:22-md-03047-YGR). Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled on hundreds of consolidated legal claims filed on behalf of children, school districts, local governments and state attorneys general. The ruling covered lawsuits from 35 different states, including California, New York, Georgia and Florida. Rogers “generally denied” the companies’ motions to dismiss but limited many claims' scope. “Much of the States’ consumer protection claims are cognizable,” she said. “Meta’s alleged yearslong public campaign of deception as to the risks of addiction and mental harms to minors from platform use fits readily within these states’ deceptive acts and practices framework.” However, she noted Communications Decency Act Section 230 provides a “fairly significant limitation on these claims.” Section 230 also protects against “personal injury plaintiffs’ consumer-protection, concealment, and misrepresentation theories,” she said. Rogers declined to dismiss “theories of liability predicated on a failure-to-warn of known risks of addiction attendant to any platform features or as to platform construction in general,” including claims against YouTube, Snap and TikTok. The companies didn’t comment.