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9th Circuit Allows 3,000 Youth-Addiction Lawsuits to Proceed

8/11/2026

27 6 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco let 3,000 lawsuits proceed against Meta, Google, TikTok and Snapchat.
The court denied Meta’s request to delay the trial filed by 29 state attorneys general while plaintiffs say the platforms addict youth.
New Mexico courts ordered Meta to pay $375 million for safety deception and $567 million to a teen mental-health fund, with the companies saying they will appeal.

History

Historical Context

In July 2019 the FTC voted 3-2 to impose a $5 billion penalty on Facebook, the largest U.S. privacy fine, and required a 20-year consent decree with quarterly audits. The settlement followed revelations that Facebook knew of Cambridge Analytica’s 2015 data misuse. That precedent underlies the 9th Circuit’s ruling allowing thousands of state-led lawsuits alleging youth-addiction harms by Meta, Google, TikTok and Snapchat.

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Story summary

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco let 3,000 lawsuits proceed against Meta, Google, TikTok and Snapchat.
The court denied Meta’s request to delay the trial filed by 29 state attorneys general while plaintiffs say the platforms addict youth.
New Mexico courts ordered Meta to pay $375 million for safety deception and $567 million to a teen mental-health fund, with the companies saying they will appeal.

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