Meta Faces Legal Storm Over Teenage Mental Health Concerns

Meta, Facebook's parent company, is facing legal action by U.S. states for allegedly contributing to teens' mental health issues through addictive social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. A federal judge approved proceeding with the lawsuits, rejecting Meta's bid to dismiss them under Section 230 protections.

A federal judge in California has ruled that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, must face lawsuits from U.S. states accusing it of contributing to mental health issues among teenagers through its Facebook and Instagram platforms.

The judge, Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, dismissed Meta's attempts to use federal law Section 230 as a shield from the claims made by more than 30 states.

This ruling enables the states and individual plaintiffs to gather more evidence and potentially proceed to trial, while Meta and other social media companies continue to contest the allegations.

(With inputs from agencies.)