Appeals court rules lawsuits against social media can continue

Aug. 11 (UPI) — A federal appeals court ruled Monday that thousands of lawsuits against social media companies, like TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat, can proceed.

The companies had appealed, arguing that they were immune from the lawsuits because of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields online service providers from liability for third-party content. They argued that the law also shields them from lawsuits that allege they failed to warn users about addictive behavior.

The ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit was in response to efforts by Google; Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram; Snap; and ByteDance’s TikTok to overturn a lower court decision.

“Although Section 230 does not expressly provide for immunity from suit, Meta argues that such immunity should be implied. We disagree,” Circuit Judge Jacqueline Hong-Ngoc Nguyen wrote in her opinion.

The decision paves the way for thousands more lawsuits against the companies to move forward.

In March, a jury found Meta and YouTube liable for negligently designing addictive social media platforms that harm children. TikTok and Snap were named in the complaint, but settled before the trial began. The jury awarded $6 million to the lead plaintiff.

The court also denied Meta’s request to delay a trial starting Wednesday for allegations the company collected and used children’s data illegally.