Meta loses bid to dismiss US states' claims that Facebook, Instagram addict children

A federal judge dismissed a request made by Meta Platforms seeking to have the lawsuit filed against it by 29 state attorneys general of the United States be thrown out, saying the company deliberately designed Facebook and Instagram so as to addict children to the platforms, all while hiding the truth about this addiction from the public.

In her decision made late on Monday, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of Oakland, California, rejected Meta’s motion for dismissal based on allegations of fraud, deceit and unfair business practices, as well as violations of the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

The Judge further held that Meta did not satisfy the notice and consent requirements under COPPA, issuing summary judgment in favor of the states on that claim.

Meta stated in a press release: "We strongly disagree with these allegations and are confident the evidence will prove our long-standing dedication to helping young people."

Gonzalez Rogers further is overseeing multidistrict litigation filed by more than 2,600 individuals, school districts and cities on whether the social media companies like Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube, Snapchat and Tiktok addict children.

Meta countered that the attorneys general had no evidence that it misled consumers about its platforms' alleged addictiveness, including in congressional testimony by Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg.

The Menlo Park, California-based company said this was because "social media addiction" is not an established psychiatric condition, and therefore statements that its platforms are not addictive could not be false.

Meta also said it didn't violate the children's online privacy law because it directed Facebook and Instagram to a general audience, not just children under the age of 13.