Meta Platforms (META.O) opens a new tab. On Monday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg won the dismissal of several claims in a dozen lawsuits accusing him of concealing the fact that Facebook and Instagram were detrimental to minors.
The verdict, issued by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, was as part of a wide complaint by youngsters accusing Meta and other social media firms of hooking them to their platforms.
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Twenty-five of those cases attempted to hold Zuckerberg personally accountable, claiming that Meta’s wealthy creator misled users about the platforms’ safety despite repeated warnings that they were unsafe for children.
The plaintiffs asserted that Zuckerberg’s prominent status and outsized role as the “trusted voice on all things Meta” generated an obligation under multiple state statutes for him to speak completely and frankly about the hazards his products posed to children.
However, Rogers stated that the plaintiffs could not use Zuckerberg’s comparative knowledge of Meta’s products to prove that he owed such a responsibility to each plaintiff. She stated that such a finding would establish “a duty to disclose for any individual recognizable to the public.”
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“The court will not countenance such a novel approach here,” she went on to say.
Meta, which is still a defendant, declined to comment. The corporation denies wrongdoing.
Hundreds of lawsuits are pending before Rogers on behalf of individual children against Meta and other social media companies such as Alphabet (GOOGL.O), which operates Google and YouTube; ByteDance, which operates TikTok; and Snap (SNAP.N), which operates Snapchat.
According to the claims, the youngsters suffered physical, mental, and emotional injury as a result of their social media use, such as anxiety, depression, and even suicide.
The lawsuit demands damages and an end to the activities that the defendants claim are damaging. Several states and school districts have also brought cases against Meta, which are still pending.
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