A US appeals court has ruled that lawsuits accusing Meta Platforms, Google and TikTok, along with other social media companies, of designing addictive platforms can proceed, particularly over claims involving younger users.
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, based in San Francisco, rejected the companies' attempt to overturn a lower court's ruling allowing more than 3,000 lawsuits to move forward in federal court.
The Ninth Circuit found that the companies had appealed too early, since such challenges typically only follow a final ruling or verdict, not while the case is still ongoing.
The suits have been filed by several US school districts, municipalities, states and individuals, who claim the platforms have intentionally hooked younger users, contributing to soaring rates of anxiety, depression and body-image issues.
The companies, including Snapchat, TikTok, Meta and Google, argued that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 shields them from lawsuits claiming they failed to adequately warn the public about the potentially addictive nature of their platforms.
