US Judge Allows School Districts to Sue Tech Giants Over AI-Driven Student Addiction
A US federal judge ruled that school districts can proceed with lawsuits against Meta, Google, TikTok, and Snap, alleging the companies designed their platforms to addict students and contributed to a mental health crisis. The ruling allows more than 150 cases to proceed despite Section 230 protections for some claims.
What happened
US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California ruled on October 24, 2024 that school districts can proceed with lawsuits against Meta, Google, TikTok, and Snap over claims the companies' platforms are addictive.
The school districts allege the companies engineered their platforms to addict children by using algorithms and features such as the 'like' button, in ways that deliberately fostered compulsive use.
Reported impact
School districts alleged that the companies' addictive apps contributed to a mental health crisis among students.
Each school district seeks to recoup institutional costs from the negative repercussions of having hundreds of individual students hooked on social media.
Index analysis
Judge Gonzalez Rogers said the schools' core legal theory was viable: the social media companies 'deliberately fostered compulsive use of their platforms which foreseeably caused' the school districts to spend resources addressing the crisis.
The ruling allows more than 150 cases to proceed before Rogers, though she narrowed the scope by concluding some claims are barred by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
Governance controls
Meta and Google spokespersons denied wrongdoing, saying their companies have taken steps to keep young users safe on the platforms.
Snap cited its safety initiatives and pointed to research showing Snapchat has a positive impact on user well-being.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.