Facebook’s parent company Meta faces US lawsuits accusing it of encouraging social media addiction among teenagers, a federal judge in California ruled on Tuesday.
Oakland-based U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers denied Meta’s request to dismiss claims brought by states in two separate lawsuits filed last year, one involving more than 30 states and the other Florida.
The agency argued that federal law barred some claims and that the states failed to point out the false statements it made.
The judge placed some limits on compensation claims that more than 30 states could pursue, but allowed the case to proceed largely as is. The judge also denied the social media company’s motion to dismiss certain social media addiction claims by individual plaintiffs.
The states are seeking injunctions against Meta’s illegal business practices and unspecified monetary damages.
Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed by various plaintiffs against Meta, ByteDance’s TikTok and Alphabet’s YouTube, alleging the companies designed addictive algorithms that led to anxiety, depression and body image problems among teenagers and failed to warn them of their risks.
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