Thousands of lawsuits against some of the world's biggest social media companies can move forward after a US appeals court rejected an attempt by the companies to challenge the cases at an early stage.
The cases involve Meta Platforms, Google's parent company Alphabet, ByteDance's TikTok and Snap's Snapchat. The companies are facing claims that their products were designed in ways that allegedly encourage addictive use, particularly among young people.
Editorial Insight
Key Highlights
Important points readers should notice.
US appeals court allows thousands of lawsuits against Meta, Google, TikTok and Snapchat to proceed.
The lawsuits involve allegations that their products were designed to be addictive to young users.
The 9th Circuit said Section 230 provides a defence against liability, not immunity from lawsuits. The court considered the companies' appeal premature at this stage.
Meta and Google have denied the claims. Meta and Google said they plan to appeal the ruling.
The decision does not determine whether the companies are ultimately liable.
The ruling came from the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which said the companies could not use their current appeal to stop the lawsuits before the underlying litigation had reached its conclusion.
What the Companies Argued
The companies had challenged a lower court's decision involving Section 230, a US law that provides certain legal protections to online platforms.
Editorial Analysis
Why This Matters
The ruling could affect how major social media companies defend themselves against lawsuits involving product design and alleged harm to young users. It also puts fresh attention on the limits of Section 230 and the extent to which the law protects platforms from legal claims involving how their products are designed.
They argued that they should be able to challenge the lower court's rejection of their immunity defence before the lawsuits continued further.
The appeals court did not accept that argument at this stage.
The court said Section 230 provides a defence against liability, rather than giving companies immunity from being sued altogether. Because of that distinction, the court found that the companies' appeal was premature.
Lawsuits Focus on Young Users
The lawsuits centre on allegations that social media platforms have designed features that can encourage prolonged or addictive use.
The cases involve claims relating to young users and the potential effects of social media products on them.The companies have denied the claims.
The ruling does not decide whether Meta, Google, TikTok or Snapchat are ultimately responsible for the allegations. It simply allows the lawsuits to continue through the legal process.
Companies Plan Further Appeals
Meta and Google have said they will appeal the decision.
That means the legal fight over how Section 230 applies to these cases is not necessarily over.
For the families and other plaintiffs involved in the lawsuits, however, the decision means their cases can continue instead of being stopped at this stage.
