Federal judge rules social media companies must face teen addiction claims

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that social media companies like Meta, Snapchat and Google must answer claims that their platforms have caused mental health and addiction issues to their teen users.

The companies previously argued that the claims should be thrown out due to First Amendment rights and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

However, Gonzalez Rogers’s decision will now allow pending suits against the social media giants to move forward.

“The court’s ruling repudiates Big Tech’s overbroad and incorrect claim that Section 230 or the First Amendment should grant them blanket immunity for the harm they cause to their users,” said attorneys for consumer plaintiffs engaged in a legal battle with the companies. “The mental health crisis among American youth is a direct result of these defendants’ intentional design of harmful product features.”