Young people watching a live streaming. Social media concept. Credit: REDPIXE/Adobe Stock 'Tiresome to See That Argument Coming Up Again': Facebook's Plan to Defeat 'Addiction' Lawsuits
Facebook has raised an arsenal of legal defenses that could swiftly dismiss lawsuits alleging younger users have become addicted to social media, leading to mental health problems and, in some cases, suicides.
September 08, 2022 at 02:47 PM
6 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Law.com
What You Need to Know
- In addition to Meta, which operates Facebook and Instagram, the lawsuits name TikTok, Snap and Google's YouTube.
- Defenses include the Communications Decency Act and that social media isn't a 'product' subject to products liability laws.
- The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation will hear arguments later this month on whether to coordinate about 70 such lawsuits in federal courts.
Facebook, Snapchat and other social media sites, citing an arsenal of legal defenses, are preparing for a swift dismissal of lawsuits alleging their products intentionally cause addiction and mental health problems in younger users.
Facebook, now called Meta Platforms Inc., provided a glimpse of those defenses in an Aug. 30 filing before the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, which will hear arguments later this month on whether to coordinate about 70 such lawsuits in federal courts.
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