Proceedings against Meta for addictive content continue

A Californian federal judge on Monday rejected Meta's argument that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects the company from liability. In a lawsuit against Meta Platforms Inc., the company is accused of harming the mental and physical health of children and young people via its Instagram and Facebook platforms.

Section 230 CDA is considered the basic standard for freedom of expression on the internet. It generally protects online platforms from being prosecuted for harmful content that users publish on their sites and gives them extensive options for filtering and deleting content themselves without being held liable.

Profit at the expense of young people

The lawsuit was filed by an association of concerned parents who argued that the social networks contained addictive features that could promote mental health problems in young users. Federal Judge Neal Kravitz rejected Meta's objections and instead sided with other court decisions in which judges have recently found that the law only prohibits liability for third-party content, not for design features of the platforms themselves.

"Section 230 provides no refuge to Meta because none of the deceptive business practices based on injunctive relief seek to treat Meta as a publisher of certain third-party content," Kravitz wrote to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. In addition, Washington Attorney General Brian Schwalb stated in a post on X: "Meta puts profits over the health and safety of children. I look forward to holding them accountable in court."

Features such as personalized algorithms and "doomscrolling" make young people dependent on social media and Meta profits at the expense of their health. The lawsuit refers to internal Meta studies published by a whistleblower, which show that Meta is aware of the impact on teenagers' mental health, including the promotion of eating disorders.

Social media under scrutiny

The court's decision indicates that there is sufficient evidence of potential infringement under California law and general principles of liability to pursue the case. Meta has not yet responded to the court's decision. The news was first published by Bloomberg Law.

The lawsuit comes at a time when social media is coming under increasing pressure for its influence and is being criticized in particular for its impact on mental health, especially among young users.

(vat)