US court okays lawsuits accusing Meta, Google of deploying addiction tactics on teens

Do social media companies deliberately design their apps in a way that turns teens into addicts, warranting schools to invest resources on their mental health? And if yes, should schools be compensated for that?

A ruling by United States District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, has now opened Pandora’s box for tech giants like Meta, Google, TikTok and Snap. On Thursday (Oct 24), Rogers left the social media companies hanging in balance for damages in more than 150 cases brought by school districts.

While many of the claims against social media giants were shot down under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields the companies from lawsuits, Rogers allowed a toned-down version of the lawsuit to proceed.

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Notably, just over a week ago, she allowed a lawsuit by dozens of state attorneys general accusing Meta of deliberately hooking kids on its platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

Apart from cases by school districts, these companies also face hundreds of personal injury claims, backed by allegations that Instagram and Facebook addiction caused them mental suffering and emotional trauma.

Allegations

School districts claim Facebook and other social media companies have designed their algorithm to hook teens and students on screens for hours. Their features such as the ‘like button’, as per school authorities, are similar to products designed to be addictive by cigarette manufacturers.

While a similar case by shot down by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge in favour of the companies on June 7, Rogers saw merit in the schools’ core legal theory: The internet companies “deliberately fostered compulsive use of their platforms which foreseeably caused” the schools to spend their resources on tackling the mental health crisis among students.

On the other hand, the companies deny any role in causing mental trauma to youngsters. They claim they have taken several steps in order to boost privacy for teens and keep them safe.

(With inputs from agencies)