Court acquits Zuckenberg in case of children's addiction to social media

A court has ruled that Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms, is not personally liable in 25 lawsuits filed against the company for allegedly contributing to children's addiction to social media.

According to Reuters, the lawsuits accused Meta of creating conditions that negatively affect children's mental health, in particular through platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.

The plaintiffs claimed that Zuckerberg was personally involved in Meta's processes that concealed risks from children and called him the company's "guiding force" in this matter. They claimed that the company's founder was aware of internal warnings about the risks, but ignored them and publicly downplayed the threat.

The judge, however, noted the lack of concrete evidence to support Zuckerberg's personal actions to conceal these risks. She emphasized that general control over Meta's activities is not a sufficient basis for personal liability. This decision applies only to Zuckerberg, and the lawsuits against Meta remain in force.

The lawsuits were filed under the laws of 13 US states, including Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, New York, North and South Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

The plaintiffs' representative, Previn Warren, a partner at Motley Rice, said the clients will continue to seek evidence to "prove that big tech companies put profits ahead of child safety."

These 25 lawsuits are part of hundreds of other cases where plaintiffs, including children, their families, and school districts, are seeking damages from Meta, Google (a division of Alphabet), TikTok (ByteDance), and Snapchat (Snap) for their addiction to social media. Dozens of U.S. attorneys general have also made similar accusations, linking these platforms to mental health problems among children, such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, and disruption of routines and learning.

Meanwhile, a new study has found that more than a quarter of Ukrainian media outlets rely on social media, with Telegram and Facebook dominating, and Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) being less popular news sources.