"Youth Addicted to SNS"... What Is the Status of Meta, Google, and TikTok Lawsuits?

US Court Approves Lawsuit Filed by Each School District
Company Responds "Taking Protective Measures"

Meta, Google, TikTok, and Snap are expected to become embroiled in lawsuits filed by various school districts in the United States concerning addiction to social networking services (SNS) among teenagers.

On the 25th, Yonhap News reported the lawsuit details citing Bloomberg News. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the Oakland District Court in California did not accept the companies' request to dismiss the negligence charges, allowing the school districts to continue their lawsuits against these companies. This ruling is expected to become a significant turning point, reigniting discussions about the social responsibility of social media platforms.

[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

Judge Rogers acknowledged the responsibility of social media companies that deliberately encouraged compulsive use of their platforms. She accepted the school districts' claims that they had no choice but to expend resources to address the mental health crisis among students.

However, Judge Rogers stated that some of the plaintiffs' claims were dismissed based on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a federal law that protects internet companies from lawsuits.

This ruling contrasts with a June decision by the Los Angeles Superior Court, which was favorable to the companies. While the companies are trying to avoid liability claims in over 600 other lawsuits filed in Los Angeles, this ruling suggests that they will not be able to avoid more than 150 other lawsuits.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs welcomed the ruling as a victory for schools and teachers on the front lines of the youth mental health crisis in the United States. However, Google and Meta reiterated their stance that they have taken measures to safely protect young users on their platforms and deny any wrongdoing.

(This photo is not directly related to the article.) [Photo source=Pixabay]

A Google spokesperson issued a statement claiming that the allegations made by the school districts are not true. Spokesperson Jose Castaneda emphasized, "We have worked with youth, mental health, and parenting experts to build services and policies that provide age-appropriate experiences for youth and give parents strong controls." A Meta spokesperson also stated that the company disagrees with the court's decision.

The school districts filing the lawsuits argue that social media companies designed their platforms to promote addiction in children by using algorithms and features like the ‘Like’ button in a harmful manner, similar to how e-cigarette manufacturers designed products to be addictive and harmful to society.

Earlier, Judge Rogers ruled last week that lawsuits filed by state attorneys general seeking to hold Meta accountable for deliberately encouraging addiction among children on Facebook and Instagram platforms could proceed.

Meanwhile, in 2024, the total number of elementary, middle, and high school students in South Korea is expected to reach 5.25 million. It is estimated that 99% of them own smartphones (Korea Communications Commission 2023 survey, 99.6% smartphone usage rate among teenagers). According to the Korea Information Society Agency, 40% of teenagers, more than 2 million, are at risk of smartphone overdependence and addiction. Among children aged 6 to 9, 30%, and among infants aged 3 to 9, 25% are analyzed to be in the risk group for overdependence.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.