It’s another day, which means it’s time for more child safety lawsuits against TikTok, Google, and Meta. Despite studies showing both positive and negative impacts from social media for teens, these platforms are once again facing accusations of harming young people.
As reported by Bloomberg, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the US District Court in Oakland ruled that numerous lawsuits filed by school districts against these companies can proceed.
Bloomberg reports that Jones backed more than 150 cases filed by school districts. Reportedly, these cases are all centered around the “addictive” effect social media platforms can have on young people’s mental health.
Meta and Google denied any wrongdoing to Bloomberg, while TikTok didn’t immediately respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment.
How will social media platforms defend against these child safety lawsuits?
The typical defense for cases like this is Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. Section 230 dictates that if social media platforms are quick to deal with harmful content, they cannot be held legally liable for it.
It’s because of Section 230 that not all the cases brought to Rogers moved forward.
However, in reference to cases that continued to stand, Rogers claimed that social media companies “deliberately fostered compulsive use of their platforms, which foreseeably caused” school districts to spend more money and resources combating mental health.
