Big Tech Faces Major Setback in Social Media Cases

Big Tech companies Meta, Alphabet, ByteDance and Snap have suffered a major setback after a US appeals court rejected their bids to dismiss more than 3,000 federal lawsuits alleging that their platforms were designed to keep children and young users addicted. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that the cases can proceed, rejecting the companies’ argument that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act provided them with immunity from the lawsuits.

The court said Section 230 could be raised as a defence during the proceedings but did not provide complete protection at the initial stage. The lawsuits allege that features such as infinite scrolling and autoplay contributed to mental health problems among children, including depression, anxiety and body image concerns. The cases could have wider implications for how social media companies design platforms and protect young users.