Tracker Detail
Social Media Adolescent Addiction/Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation - MDL No. 3047
Name | Type | Government | Date Initiated | Status | Last Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Social Media Adolescent Addiction/Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation - MDL No. 3047 | Litigation | United States | Oct 6, 2022 | Motion to Dismiss Denied in Part and Granted in Part | Oct 24, 2024 |
Summary
A US Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ordered the consolidation of suits filed in federal courts from individual plaintiffs, school districts, and state attorneys general to the Northern District of California. The plaintiff lawsuits, brought on behalf of children and adolescents, as well as the school district suits, are against five major social media platforms: Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, Google’s YouTube, ByteDance’s TikTok, and Snapchat. The wave of school district suits, which was initiated by Seattle Public Schools in January 2023, rose to more than 200 suits within just one year. The state attorneys general suits filed in federal court so far only include legal action against Meta, although dozens of states have sued Meta, Snap, and TikTok in their respective jurisdictions.
Updates
March 10, 2023. The plaintiffs filed a master complaint with the court.
April 14, 2023. The plaintiffs filed an amended master complaint with the court.
November 14, 2023. US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers issued an order granting in part and denying in part motions to dismiss certain product liability claims in the suits on behalf of children and adolescents. However, it finds that "Section 230 and the First Amendment do not bar plaintiffs’ negligence per se claim."
October 15, 2024. The judge allowed the majority of the state attorneys general's claims to proceed. The ruling notes that while Section 230 provides “a fairly significant limitation” on consumer protections, the company’s “alleged yearslong public campaign of deception as to the risks of addiction and mental harms to minors from platform use fits readily within these states’ deceptive acts and practices framework.” She also denies Meta's motion to dismiss the COPPA violation claims in the states attorneys general suits.
October 24, 2024. The judge ruled that the school districts' negligence and public nuisance complaints against Meta, Snap, TikTok, and YouTube can proceed in-part, allowing them to seek damages for expenses incurred by students' addictions to the social media platforms. Some of the plaintiffs' theories of injury claims were, however, dismissed on Section 230 and First Amendment grounds.
