Meta has failed to stop a lawsuit that could cost it a staggering $1.4 trillion

The first in a series of lawsuits, led by California and several other federal states, is scheduled to begin with a trial on August 19, while jury selection is underway. August 12. In a July court filing, Meta expressed concern that claims for damages could exceed the aforementioned astronomical amount.

Request for immunity rejected

In a unanimous decision by a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, the justices rejected Meta’s and TikTok’s claims that they are protected from lawsuits under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Although Meta mostly referred to immunity, the judgment states that “TikTok did not independently express itself on any issue, but only joined Meta’s arguments”.

“Since Section 230 provides only a defense from liability and not immunity from suit, we do not have jurisdiction to review the district court’s decisions on an interim basis. Therefore, we dismiss Meta’s and TikTok’s appeals,” the judges wrote.

Although Article 230 limits the liability of Internet platforms for content published by third parties, the judicial panel emphasized that Congress did not give companies an express guarantee that they would not face prosecution. “When Congress wants to create immunity from prosecution, it knows how to say it unequivocally,” the ruling’s explanation reads.

The states claim that Meta misled the public

The court’s decision enables the continuation of the proceedings in which the federal states of California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey charge Meta with violating consumer protection laws. State attorneys general claim that the company knowingly designed Facebook and Instagram with features that are addictive to children and teenagers, contributing to a youth mental health crisis.

“Meta’s concerns about the potential amount of damages sought ring hollow in light of the evidence that state attorneys will present at trial,” they said in a joint filing. “We will prove that Meta misled the public about the security of its platforms, while deliberately designing them to encourage compulsive use and increase revenue.”

More than 3000 lawsuits in the unified procedure

This case is just part of a massive consolidated lawsuit being filed in the District Court for the Northern District of California. It includes more than three thousand lawsuits filed by individuals, school districts and local governments across the US. In addition to Meta and TikTok, Google, the owner of YouTube, and Snapchat are also on the dock.

Prosecutors claim that options such as infinite scrolling, excessive notifications and the number of “likes” were deliberately created to keep young users on the platforms as long as possible. On the other hand, Meta defends itself with the argument that “social media addiction” is not an officially recognized psychiatric diagnosis and points out that it has developed more than 30 tools to support teenagers and parents.

Global pressure and first judgments

The case against Meta takes place at a time of growing global concern about the safety of children online. All over the world, governments are introducing stricter regulations, so Australia is more introduced a ban on the use of social networks for those under the age of 16, and similar measures are being considered in the United Kingdom and other countries.

The target is increasingć faced financial consequences in some separate cases. In New Mexico, a court ordered the company to pay a total of $942 million for youth mental health care and as a penalty for creating a public nuisance. In another case, a jury in California found Meta and YouTube liable for harming the mental health of a young woman, awarding her six million dollars in damages.