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The
ruling by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland,
California, came in the sprawling litigation by children
pursuing hundreds of lawsuits accusing Meta and other social
media companies of addicting them to their platforms.
Twenty-five of those cases sought to hold Zuckerberg personally
liable, saying Meta's billionaire founder created a false
impression about the platforms' safety despite repeated warnings
they were unfit for children.
The plaintiffs argued that his public stature and outsized role
as the "trusted voice on all things Meta" created a duty under
several states' laws for Zuckerberg to speak fully and
truthfully on the risks its products posed to children.
But Rogers said the plaintiffs could not rely on Zuckerberg’s
comparative knowledge about Meta's products to establish he
personally owed such a duty to each plaintiff. Such a ruling,
she said, would create "a duty to disclose for any individual
recognizable to the public."
"The court will not countenance such a novel approach here," she
said.
Meta, which remains a defendant, declined to comment. The
company denies wrongdoing.
Hundreds of lawsuits are pending before Rogers filed on behalf
of individual children against Meta and other social media
companies, including Alphabet, which operates Google and
YouTube; ByteDance, which operates TikTok; and Snap, which
operates Snapchat.
The lawsuits say the children suffered physical, mental and
emotional harm from social media use, including anxiety,
depression, and even suicide.
The litigation seeks damages and a halt to the practices the
defendants say are harmful. Several states and school districts
have also filed lawsuits against Meta, which remain pending.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
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