Social media platforms double down on bid for immunity from teen addiction suits

LOS ANGELES (CN) — A platoon of lawyers for Meta, YouTube, TikTok and Snap appeared in LA Superior Court on Wednesday to push for immunity from hundreds of lawsuits accusing the social media giants of fomenting a mental health crisis amongst teenagers.

More than 1,000 plaintiffs say apps like Facebook and TikTok have greatly increased teen addiction and depression and exposed minors to harmful content, such as sexually explicit material and "challenges" that induce teens into participating in dangerous behavior.

The hearing, a continuation of one last month, was over the defendants' motion to strike much of the master complaint under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields online platforms from liability for what its users publish on them.

"When the plaintiffs challenge the operational or safety features of an online service, the claim is barred by Section 230," said Brian Willen, an attorney for Snap, the maker of Snapchat. "We have clear, binding law that says you can’t evade Section 230 by alleging that the service provider failed to protect users from harmful content."

Plaintiff attorney Josh Autry argued that his clients weren't suing the social media appmakers over failing to protect teens from harmful content, they were suing over features that made the products addictive and made it easier for certain harmful content to be accessed and spread.

"We’re saying the defendants have created tools that facilitate sexual abuse and make exploitation easier," Autry said, "because they wanted more user minutes. And that came at a cost."

He argued that when an app suggests that a user add or follow another user, who may be a complete stranger and may in fact be a predator or distributor of harmful material, that is the social media company's content, and therefore it's not protected by Section 230.

"If I’m saying, 'You should meet Billy,' that is my content, that is my recommendation," Autry said.

Judge Carolyn Kuhl did not issue a ruling on the motion to strike and gave no indication that she was leaning one way or the other. Unlike last month's hearing, she asked no questions and offered no criticisms of the two sides' arguments.

As of April 22, there are 668 personal injury plaintiffs from 40 different states in this case, according to a recent court filing.

There are also 615 school districts, six local governments and three tribal nations who have filed lawsuits, which have been consolidated into a multi-district litigation process.

"Today, over a third of 13- to 17-year-old kids report using one of defendants’ apps 'almost constantly' and admit this is 'too much,'" the plaintiffs say in their master complaint. "Yet more than half of these kids report that they would struggle to cut back on their social media use. Instead of feeding coins into slot machines, kids are feeding defendants’ products with an endless supply of attention, time, and data."

On June 17, the court will randomly select a handful of plaintiffs to serve as a bellwether case, which would proceed to trial, the result of which would likely be used to determine the size of a settlement.

Last year, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy warned in a 19-page advisory, "There are ample indicators that social media can also have a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents.”

Tech companies have used Section 230 to shield themselves from a number of lawsuits, but the tactic hasn't always worked. In January, an LA Superior Court Judge ruled that Snap could not use Section 230 to shield itself from a lawsuit over fentanyl overdoses where users bought drugs or met their drug dealers over the platform.

Follow @hillelaron

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Email *

Submit