Is Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg Liable for Causing Social Media Addiction?
By Movieguide® Contributor
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has officially been found not liable in 25 lawsuits accusing his company of causing social media addictions in children.
Zuckerberg had been named in a filing from plaintiffs that include parents and school districts, who claim Meta “did not disclose the risks associated with the social media platforms, concealed them through ‘misleading talking points,’ and prevented users from learning about them.”
The filing also claims the Meta CEO “directed, participated in, knew of, and in fact, served as the guiding spirit behind Meta’s tortious concealment and omissions.”
READ MORE: META DESIGNED PLATFORMS TO ADDICT KIDS, COURT DOCUMENT CLAIMS
However, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, rejected the accusations.
“While possible that discovery may reveal a more active participation and direction by Zuckerberg in Meta’s alleged fraudulent concealment, the allegations before the Court are insufficient to meet the standard for corporate-officer liability in the thirteen at-issue jurisdictions,” her ruling read.
Previn Warren, a partner at Motley Rice, the firm representing the plaintiffs, said his clients will continue working “to uncover the truth about how Big Tech has knowingly prioritized profits over the safety of our children,” per Reuters.
CEO Today reported that the lawsuits brought against Meta are part of “a broader trend of litigation against social media companies that target popular platforms frequented by young users, including Alphabet’s YouTube, ByteDance’s TikTok, and Snap Inc.’s Snapchat.”
“The plaintiffs allege that these companies have prioritized growth and profit over the well-being of their users, with features designed to keep users engaged for as long as possible,” they continued. “The focus of these lawsuits is on the algorithms that drive content recommendations and notifications, which critics argue have been engineered to maximize time spent on the platforms, often at the expense of users’ mental health.”
READ MORE: WILL THIS STATE’S LAWSUIT AGAINST TIKTOK FOR HARMFUL CONTENT SUCCEED?
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