U.S. Appeals Court Allows Lawsuits Against Tech Companies Over Social Media Addiction
A U.S. appeals court has ruled that thousands of lawsuits can proceed against major tech companies, including Meta Platforms, Alphabet's Google, and ByteDance's TikTok. These lawsuits allege that these companies designed their social media platforms to be addictive to young users, contributing to mental health issues such as depression and anxiety among American youth. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the companies' attempt to reverse a lower court's decision, which allows more than 3,000 lawsuits to move forward. The companies argued that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which generally protects online companies from liability for user-generated content, should also shield them from these claims. However, the court ruled that Section 230 provides a defense to liability, not immunity from lawsuits. 
