The 4 lawsuits in the US that can change how social networks operate

Today, companies like Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram; Google, which owns YouTube, and Snapchat, along with relatively new platforms such as TikTok, Discord and the social gaming platform Roblox, are facing thousands of lawsuits in the United States for alleged harm to users, particularly children and teenagers.

The result of these processes, whether they are resolved out of court or with juries condemning the companies, could change the way things work forever of social platforms.

“A scenario has been created that is observed not only by legal experts, but also by regulators and legislators”said Eric Talley, lawyer and professor at Columbia University Law School, USA.

Talley noted that this growing wave of lawsuits against the platforms influences general public perception and will likely affect political elections in the coming years, impacting the approval and review of laws and regulations.

Many of the cases are being heard in California courts, where major social media platforms are based. Known as the “California effect”, legal and regulatory changes enacted in the state often have national repercussions.

“It can no longer be denied that there is a problem with child safety on platforms”said Alexis Shore Ingber, expert in Communication Law and professor at Syracuse University.

“We are witnessing a turning point. These cases are significant“, said.

Earlier this year, Meta and YouTube suffered an unprecedented defeat in a case brought by a young woman who claimed to have been addicted to social networks since she was a child, which contributed to her mental and emotional health problems.

A jury ordered the companies to pay him joint compensation of 6 million dollars. Both firms expressed their disagreement with the verdict and announced their intention to appeal.

Meta also lost a major case in New Mexico, brought by that state’s attorney general, who accused the company of misleading the public bysign that their platforms were safe for children, despite the known problems of sexual exploitation of minors in them. Meta announced that he will appeal this verdict.

During these years in which these lawsuits have been filed and resolved, Meta implemented changes to its platforms with the goal of making them safer for young users.

However, a deeper change on the platforms – in their design, operation and even access – probably it will take years and will require more court rulings against him.

Between this year and next, Meta and the other major social platforms are preparing to face more trials where juries could consider a series of lawsuits from young users, their parents, school districts and state prosecutors alleging various negative effects resulting from the design and operation of social networks.

Even a billionaire is willing to sue Meta for hosting ads that scam people.

So which cases are really important?

The BBC analyzed dozens of cases in the US to identify the few lawsuits against social media and gaming companies that are expected to go to trial in the next year and that could have a significant impact on the businesses and operations of these platforms.

According to Adam J. Schwartz, attorney and founder of an online document review tool, the following demands “son emblematic cases that will set the tone and direction that will shape future legislation”.

Multidistrict litigation

This extensive multidistrict litigation in California includes allegations from more than a thousand school districts across the United States.

Broadly speaking, schools accuse Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok of have been intentionally designed to be addictivewhich has allegedly harmed the mental and emotional health of children by using them excessively.

Schools say dealing with the fallout from social media has cost them money and resourcesand that platforms should be considered a “public nuisance” and held accountable for the impact on children’s well-being.

Although jury trials for some of the school districts’ lawsuits are scheduled to begin in February, as the platforms recently settled with a school district that was to be tried first, all cases could take a couple more years to be fully resolved.

Possible unfavorable court rulings for the platforms could make everything changefrom the way they show user interaction to who can access them.

“The allegations in these complaints are simply false.”declared a YouTube spokesperson.

For their part, from Snapchat they stated: “We strongly disagree with the accusations; we don’t attack schools”.

Meta declined to comment and TikTok did not respond to a request for comment.

The people of California vs. Goal

Lawyers from the states of California and Colorado led a group of 29 states that filed a class-action lawsuit against Meta and Instagram in 2023. The trial is scheduled for August.

Although the case is being heard before the same judge as the multidistrict litigation in California, the states only accuse Meta of violate the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), a federal law.

This law, enacted in 2000, aimed to protect minors under 13 years of age from being targeted by false advertising by companies that operate online.

According to court records, Meta has already filed more than 2 million documents in the case.

If the states win, the demand on Meta is that Improve controls to prevent users under 13 from using your platforms and delete data previously collected from underage users, in addition to other measures.

Meta uses this data to, among other things, target ads and train its artificial intelligence (AI) models and tools.

A company spokesman declined to comment.

A child against Roblox and others

This lawsuit against Roblox y Discord was filed by a 13-year-old boy in an external state court in San Mateo, California. The boy alleges that he was a victim of harassment and grooming of minors across both platforms by an adult sexual predator, who was subsequently arrested for his crimes against more than two dozen children.

The lawsuit argues that both platforms had a defective design and they made false advertising about the safety of young users, so they should be responsible for the damage suffered by the young man, identified as John Doe.

Roblox, a video game-focused platform with numerous social media features, and Discord (it is an instant messaging and voice chat service) attempted to submit the case to arbitration, a private legal process outside the court system. The court refused, but the case is currently on hold pending the companies’ appeal.

If Roblox and Discord lose their appeals, the lawsuit could go to trial later this year. A court ruling against the platforms could lead to changes in age restrictions and the possibility of strangers interacting with young users through messages and chats.

A Discord spokeswoman declined to comment, while a Roblox representative did not respond to a request for comment.

Forrest contra Meta

Not all cases against social media platforms that go to trial involve harm to minors.

Dr. Andrew Forrest, a Australian billionairesued Meta in California in 2022 for the company’s alleged negligence in do not combat fraudulent ads that deceived Australians with false investments, which allegedly proliferated in Facebook using your name and image.

With accusations that include misuse of his image and illicit enrichment, as Meta derives income from ads on its platform regardless of their objective or result, Forrest’s lawsuit could be one of the most important.

Forrest asks the court to declare that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act cannot be used as a defense by Meta in this case. Meta argues that it is protected from Forrest’s claims by Section 230.

Enacted in 1996, Section 230—as it is commonly known—essentially grants platforms legal immunity for any incidents that occur on them.

If the court ends up ruling in Forrest’s favor, it could undo decades of arguments used by the platforms in their defense.

A Meta spokesman declined to comment.