Facebook and Instagram owner Mark Zuckerberg successfully avoided personal liability in 25 lawsuits that alleged Meta Platforms Inc. and other social media firms were responsible for addicting children to their platforms.
In a ruling issued Monday, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who is presiding over the lawsuits, sided with Meta's CEO, dismissing Zuckerberg as an individual defendant. However, the order does not impact the claims against Meta as a corporation.
Legal actions brought on behalf of young people have alleged that Zuckerberg received multiple warnings about the safety risks posed by Instagram and Facebook for children, and yet the Meta CEO ignored these findings and opted not to disclose them publicly.
The complainants said that Zuckerberg's prominent public image and influential position as the "trusted authority on all matters concerning Meta" imposed a legal obligation under the laws of several states for him to provide comprehensive and truthful information regarding the risks posed by the company's products to children.
However, Judge Rogers found that Zuckerberg wasn't obligated to disclose safety information unless there was a "special relationship" between him and the users of Meta's products.
In her ruling, Judge Rogers also said that holding Zuckerberg liable solely based on his public figure as the face of Meta would set a precedent requiring disclosure from any recognizable individual in the public eye. She described this as a "novel approach" that the court cannot support.
Judge Rogers said the people who sued Meta and Zuckerberg have the opportunity to amend and refile their complaints.
Representatives from Meta and the plaintiffs' attorney did not respond immediately to requests for comment, according to Bloomberg.
The order comes after a hearing in February where the judge seemed to show sympathy toward the complaints, suggesting that Zuckerberg could be held accountable for personally concealing information in his capacity as a corporate officer at Meta.
The 25 lawsuits targeting Zuckerberg represent only a fraction of over 1,000 legal actions brought against Meta, along with other tech giants like Google, TikTok, and Snap Inc., by families and public school districts in both state and federal courts.
The complaints allege that children experienced physical, mental, and emotional harm as a result of their social media usage, including conditions such as anxiety, depression, and, tragically, suicide.
The lawsuits aim for damages and demand an end to the practices that complainants argue are harmful.
While dismissing some claims, Rogers allowed others to proceed against the companies.
The tech giants have consistently denied any wrongdoing, saying that they have implemented measures to ensure the safety of young users on their platforms.
