he U.S. accused Meta of causing mental health problems among the young generation. It’s not the first time is facing such allegations regarding its platforms
– Instagram and Facebook.
The US California Federal Judge ruled this Tuesday that between teens Instagram and Facebook can cause addiction, and Meta is being held responsible for those allegations.
The US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has rejected to throw the claims that were brought to Meta last year by the two lawsuits. One of the lawsuits involved more than 30 states, among those being California and Florida. The state of Florida filed the other lawsuit.
US District Judge Rogers dismissed some of the claims brought by the states against Meta, as she agreed with the Section 230 federal law, which partly shields the online platforms. Yet, this federal law is not enough, as she found that the information gathered by all states was enough to go further with the case.
It is also worth mentioning that Judge Rogers also rejected other motions made by ByteDance’s TikTok, Meta, Alphabet, YouTube, and Snapchat. The motions were related to lawsuits regarding personal injuries and individual plaintiffs.
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Those actions gave the ability to those states to look for more evidence and even go to trial. However, it is not the final decision regarding their case. This is not a final ruling on the metrics of the case.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said “Meta needs to be held accountable for the very real harm it has inflicted on children here in California and across the country,"
The lawyers from the personal plaintiffs talked about the ruling, reporting that "a significant victory for young people nationwide who have been negatively impacted by addictive and harmful social media platforms”.
Meta, does, however, disagree with the allegations and ruling as it did develop ways in which it supports teens and young adults as it even added “Teen accounts” with even more layers of protection.
Even more so, one of Google’s spokespersons called those allegations “simply not true" and, "providing young people with a safer, healthier experience has always been core to our work.”.
The US states are looking forward to creating a safe environment for teens and young adults to develop, seeking justice against Meta’s allegedly illegal business and practices.
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