For the first time in decades, a federal appeals court has drawn a meaningful line between what users post on social media and how platforms are built to keep them there — ruling that Section 230's long-standing legal shield does not protect companies from claims rooted in their own design choices. The Ninth Circuit's decision allows thousands of lawsuits against Meta, TikTok, Google, and Snap to move forward, on the grounds that deliberately engineering addictive behavior is a product liability question, not a speech protection question. It is a moment that asks whether the architecture of at
Court Rules Social Media Addiction Lawsuits Against Meta, TikTok Can Proceed
Lawsuits allege social media design causes addictive behavior and mental health harm to users, particularly affecting younger demographics.