Overview
- The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday cleared more than 3,000 consolidated federal lawsuits by ruling that Section 230 is a defense to liability rather than a blanket immunity from being sued.
- Jury selection has begun this week in the high‑profile multistate trial in Oakland where state attorneys general will press claims that Meta engineered Instagram and Facebook to keep minors hooked.
- The suits accuse platforms of deliberately using features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications and visible 'like' counts to maximize engagement and harm young users’ mental health.
- Recent rulings have already produced liability and remedies: a Los Angeles jury awarded $6 million in a bellwether case and a New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $567 million and adopt youth‑safety measures after an Aug. 6 ruling.
- Tech companies deny wrongdoing and plan appeals, but the court’s decision to let trials proceed raises the possibility of wide financial penalties, court‑ordered product limits and new industry compliance obligations.