<p>A US appeals court on Monday cleared the way for more than 3,000 lawsuits against Meta Platforms, Alphabet's Google, ByteDance's TikTok and Snap over allegations that the companies designed their social media products to be addictive for young users.</p> <p>The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco rejected an appeal by Meta and TikTok challenging a lower court decision that required the companies to face the lawsuits in federal court. The appeals court said the companies had sought to challenge the ruling too early.</p> <p>The cases, filed by parents, school districts, states, municipalities and individuals, accuse the social media companies of deliberately designing their platforms to keep young users engaged, contributing to concerns over mental health, including depression, anxiety and body-image problems.</p> <p><strong>ALSO READ | <a href="https://news.abplive.com/technology/paytm-meets-claude-businesses-can-now-track-payments-with-ai-prompts-1861383#google_vignette">Paytm Meets Claude: Businesses Can Now Track Payments With AI Prompts</a></strong></p> <h2>Court Rejects Section 230 Defence Appeal</h2> <p>Meta and TikTok had argued that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 protected them from the lawsuits. The law generally shields online platforms from liability over content posted by their users.</p> <p>The companies argued that the same protection should cover claims that they failed to warn users about the allegedly addictive nature of their platforms. They also contended that they should not have to wait until the litigation concludes before challenging the lower court's decision on Section 230.</p> <p>The 9th Circuit disagreed. The court said Section 230 provides a defence against liability rather than immunity from being sued in the first place. As a result, it ruled that the companies' appeal was premature.</p> <h2>Meta Fails To Delay Multistate Trial</h2> <p>The appeals court also rejected Meta's request to postpone a trial scheduled to begin Wednesday. The case was brought by attorneys general from 29 states, who accuse Meta of illegally collecting and using children's data, designing its platforms to keep young users hooked and misleading consumers about their safety.</p> <p>Meta had argued that the trial should not proceed while its appeal remained unresolved. The court's decision means the trial can move ahead as scheduled.</p> <p>The latest ruling comes days after a New Mexico judge found that Meta had created a public nuisance in the state. The judge ordered the company to pay $567 million into a fund for teen mental health and to introduce measures aimed at improving youth safety.</p> <p><strong>ALSO READ | <a href="https://news.abplive.com/news/india/pm-modi-facebook-post-removal-meta-says-meta-says-operational-error-led-to-restriction-1860615">Meta Says &lsquo;Operational Error&rsquo; Led To Restriction Of PM Modi&rsquo;s Facebook Post</a></strong></p> <h2>Lawsuits Target Social Media Product Design</h2> <p>The broader litigation has been consolidated before US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California. The plaintiffs are seeking damages, penalties and restitution from the companies.</p> <p>Parents, school districts, state and local governments and other plaintiffs have argued that the lawsuits concern the way the platforms are designed and operated, rather than content posted by users. They have therefore challenged the companies' reliance on Section 230.</p> <p>The plaintiffs allege that social media companies intentionally created products that could become addictive for young users and that this contributed to a wider youth mental health crisis in the US. The companies' legal challenges over Section 230 will now have to proceed as the underlying cases move forward.</p>