A federal judge has rejected Meta Platforms' attempt to dismiss a significant lawsuit brought by 29 U.S. state attorneys general. The lawsuit accuses the tech giant of intentionally designing Facebook and Instagram to be addictive for children and deliberately hiding the resulting harm from the public.U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, presiding in Oakland, California, issued her decision on Monday, denying Meta's motion to dismiss claims related to deception, unfair practices, and breaches of the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The judge further ruled that Meta failed to comply with COPPA's requirements for notice and parental consent, granting summary judgment to the states on this particular issue.Judge Gonzalez Rogers is also overseeing a broader multidistrict litigation involving over 2,600 individuals, school districts, and local governments, all raising concerns about the addictive nature of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok for young users.The states contend that research indicates children's use of Facebook and Instagram can lead to serious issues, including depression, anxiety, insomnia, disruption to education and daily life, and self-harm, even suicide.(Reuters)Meta, however, argued that the attorneys general lacked evidence to prove it misled consumers about the alleged addictiveness of its platforms, including during congressional testimony by Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg. The company asserted that "social media addiction" is not a recognized psychiatric condition, therefore, its statements denying addictiveness could not be false. Meta also maintained it did not violate the children's online privacy law because its platforms were directed at a general audience, not specifically children under 13.In her 38-page decision, Judge Gonzalez Rogers identified "material factual disputes" regarding whether Meta's social media platforms are indeed addictive, whether Meta falsely denied designing them that way, and whether it "partially" targeted the platforms at children.She wrote: "The AGs present a reasonable interpretation of [Meta's] statements that Facebook and Instagram are not designed in ways that cause teens to compulsively use the platforms to their detriment. To the extent plaintiffs’ evidence shows that the platforms are in fact designed to do just that, a jury could reasonably find the statements were untrue to a reasonable person."A trial in the case is scheduled for August 18.