A federal judge says Metaplatforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg is not personally liable in 25 lawsuits accusing the company of addicting children to social media. .
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, on Thursday ruled against accusations that Mr. Zuckerberg directed Meta's efforts to hide from children the serious mental health risks of using Facebook and Instagram. Dismissed.
The plaintiffs called Meta's billionaire co-founder the “guiding spirit” behind the alleged cover-up, saying he ignored repeated internal warnings about the risks and publicly downplayed them. insisted.
But the judge found there was a lack of detail about what Mr. Zuckerberg did wrong, and said “control of a company's activities alone is insufficient” to establish liability. Her decision does not affect related allegations against Mehta itself.
Plaintiffs brought suit under the laws of 13 states: Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Plaintiffs attorney Previn Warren, a partner at Motley Rice, said Friday that his clients will submit evidence “to uncover the truth about how big technology companies have intentionally put profits ahead of the safety of children.” He said he would continue collecting.
The 25 lawsuits are among hundreds brought by children, their families and school districts seeking damages from Meta, Alphabet Inc.'s Google, ByteDance Inc.'s TikTok and Snap Inc.'s Snapchat over social media addiction. This is one of the lawsuits.
Dozens of state attorneys general are pursuing similar lawsuits against Meta, linking its social media platforms to anxiety, depression, insomnia, and interference with education and daily life.
