Zuckerberg Wins  Social Media Harm Lawsuits

Meta Platforms CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, on Monday, won a legal victory as a U.S. District Judge dismissed certain claims in a series of lawsuits alleging that he concealed the detrimental effects of Facebook and Instagram on children from the public. 

The ruling was handed down by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California in an extensive litigation initiated by children, with numerous lawsuits accusing Meta and other social media giants of fostering addiction among young users. 

Among the myriad cases, twenty-five specifically targeted Zuckerberg himself, contending that Meta's billionaire founder propagated a misleading narrative regarding the safety of the platforms despite repeated indications that they were unsuitable for children. 

The plaintiffs argued that Zuckerberg's influential public persona and pivotal role as the foremost authority on all matters about Meta obligated him, under the laws of several states, to provide comprehensive and truthful disclosures regarding the risks posed by Meta's products to children. 

However, Judge Rogers ruled against the plaintiffs, asserting that they could not rely on Zuckerberg's extensive knowledge about Meta's products to establish a personal duty owed by him to each plaintiff. 

Such a precedent, she argued, would effectively impose an obligation to disclose on any public figure. 

"The court will not countenance such a novel approach here," Judge Rogers stated. 

While Meta remains a defendant in the ongoing litigation, the company declined to offer a comment on the recent ruling, maintaining its denial of any wrongdoing. 

The legal landscape is dotted with hundreds of pending lawsuits before Judge Rogers filed on behalf of individual children against Meta and other major social media players, including Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube, ByteDance, the operator of TikTok, and Snap, which operates Snapchat. 

These lawsuits collectively allege that social media usage has inflicted physical, mental, and emotional harm on children, citing instances of anxiety, depression, and tragically, even suicide.