"Meta loses bid to dismiss US states' claims that Facebook, Instagram addict children", 30 June 2026

A ​federal judge rejected Meta Platforms' (META.O) bid to dismiss a lawsuit by 29 U.S. state attorneys general ‌accusing it of designing Facebook and Instagram to addict children and knowingly concealing the harm from the public.

In a decision late Monday, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, denied Meta's motion to dismiss claims based on deception, unfair practices and violations ​of the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act…

Meta said in a statement: “We strongly disagree with these allegations and are confident the evidence will show ​our longstanding commitment to supporting young people."…

Gonzalez Rogers also oversees related multidistrict litigation by more than 2,600 individuals, school districts and local governments over whether social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Google and YouTube (GOOGL.O), Snapchat (SNAP.N) and ​TikTok addict children...

Meta countered that the attorneys general had no ‌evidence it ⁠misled consumers about its platforms' alleged addictiveness, including in congressional testimony by Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg.

The Menlo Park, California-based company said this was because "social media addiction" is not an established psychiatric condition, and therefore statements that its platforms are not addictive could not be false.

Meta also said it didn't violate the children's online privacy law because it ​directed Facebook and Instagram to ​a general audience, not ⁠just children under age 13.

In a 38-page decision, Gonzalez Rogers found material factual disputes over whether Meta's social media platforms are addictive, whether ​Meta falsely denied it designed them that way, and whether it "partially" directed the platforms ​at children...

A trial over California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey's claims against Meta is scheduled for August 18, court records show.