US appeals court lets thousands of social media addiction lawsuits against tech giants proceed

A US appeals court has cleared the way for thousands of lawsuits against Meta, Google, TikTok and Snapchat over allegations that their social media platforms deliberately foster addiction among young users.

The San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected appeals by Meta and TikTok seeking to halt more than 3,000 lawsuits filed in federal court, ruling that the companies had appealed prematurely.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that the court also rejected Meta’s bid to delay a trial due to begin on Wednesday in a lawsuit brought by 29 state attorneys general, who accuse the company of illegally collecting and using children’s data while designing its platform to keep young users engaged and addicted.

The states also allege that Meta misled users about the safety of its platform.

The companies had argued that the trial should not proceed while their appeals remained unresolved.

The ruling came days after a New Mexico judge found Meta responsible for creating a public nuisance in the state, ordering the company to pay US$567 million (RM2.4 billion) into a fund for adolescent mental health and implement additional safety measures for young users.

A Meta spokesman declined to comment, while TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Lawyers Lexi Hazam and Previn Warren, who represent thousands of school districts and individuals suing Meta and other technology companies in federal proceedings, welcomed the ruling.

They said the decision would allow the states’ case to proceed, as well as litigation brought by school districts scheduled for trial in February.

“The trial is how the public will learn what Meta knew about the effects of its products on children, when the company knew it and what it chose to do with that knowledge,” the lawyers said, accusing Meta of trying to prevent the evidence from becoming public.

The lawsuits, filed by states, local authorities, school districts and individuals, allege that social media companies intentionally designed their platforms to make young users dependent on them, contributing to increased depression, anxiety, body-image problems and a broader youth mental health crisis in the United States.

Parents, school districts, states and other plaintiffs have argued that the trial court’s rulings were not final decisions and therefore could not yet be appealed.

They have also rejected the companies’ reliance on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, arguing that the provision does not shield claims concerning how the companies operate and design their products.

The consolidated federal cases are before US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, with plaintiffs seeking damages, penalties and restitution.

Meta and the other companies have appealed Rogers’ 2023 and 2024 rulings, which largely allowed the lawsuits to proceed.

The companies are also facing hundreds of additional lawsuits in state courts, with about 3,300 cases consolidated in a California state court proceeding.

In the first trial in the California litigation, which is being closely watched as a test of how juries may approach similar claims, a Los Angeles jury in March found Meta and Google negligent for designing social media platforms that harmed young people.

The jury awarded US$6 million (RM25.3 million) to a young woman who said she had been addicted to Instagram and YouTube since childhood.

The New Mexico public nuisance case followed an earlier phase of proceedings in which a jury in March ordered Meta to pay US$375 million (RM1.58 billion) after finding that the company had misled users about the safety of its platform.

Meta and Google, which have denied the allegations, have said they will appeal. - August 11, 2026