Tech Giants Face Day of Reckoning as Court Rejects Shield Defense

A US federal appellate court has rejected an appeal by Meta, TikTok, and Google to overturn a lower court decision requiring them to defend against thousands of lawsuits alleging that their social media platforms are addictive to young users.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco dismissed the tech firms' argument that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects them from liability related to user content and platform design choices.

The court determined that Section 230 offers a defense against liability rather than broad immunity, making the appeal procedurally premature.

This ruling paves the way for thousands of lawsuits to proceed against Meta, TikTok, Google, and Snap Inc's Snapchat, which are accused of intentionally designing addictive features for young users, contributing to rising rates of depression, anxiety, and body-image concerns among youth in the US.