Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg [AP=Yonhap News file photo]

Meta, which has suffered a series of legal defeats in lawsuits over the harmful effects of its social media platforms, is now facing an addiction lawsuit filed collectively by 29 U.S. states.

On the 30th (local time), Reuters reported that Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Oakland denied Meta's motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought by attorneys general from 29 states, including California and Colorado.

Meta had argued that the case should be dismissed, claiming that "social media addiction" is not a medically recognized condition, and therefore its statements asserting that "its platforms are not addictive" cannot be considered false.

However, Judge Rogers noted in her ruling that "the attorneys general have provided a reasonable interpretation that Meta's statements about social media addiction mean that 'Facebook and Instagram were not designed to induce compulsive use that would harm teenagers,'" adding that "this is a matter of factual dispute."

In other words, rather than accepting Meta's argument that "addiction" must be interpreted solely as a psychiatric term, she accepted the plaintiffs' interpretation of the term in its common, everyday sense.

Judge Rogers emphasized that facts based on this interpretation can be judged by a jury based on the evidence presented.

Judge Rogers also issued a summary judgment in favor of the state governments on the issue of compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), finding that Meta failed to follow relevant procedures, such as providing proper notice and obtaining parental consent.

The state governments filed the lawsuit in 2023, alleging that Facebook and Meta have adopted designs that cause depression, anxiety, insomnia, disruption of studies and daily life, and self-harm among children and adolescents.

In response to the decision, Meta stated, "We strongly disagree with these claims and will be able to demonstrate through evidence that we have a long history of supporting young people."

The trial for this case is scheduled to begin on August 18.

Judge Rogers is also presiding over lawsuits filed by some 2,600 individuals, school districts, and local governments regarding whether social media platforms—including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok—are addictive.

Meta has been facing a streak of legal losses in cases involving the harmful impact of social media.

Earlier, in a "bellwether trial" held at a Los Angeles court in March involving a plaintiff in her 20s known as "Kaylee G.M.," the company was ordered to pay a total of $6 million (approximately 9 billion won) in damages along with Google. Additionally, it was fined $375 million (approximately 560 billion won) in a lawsuit brought by the state of New Mexico.

Furthermore, a lawsuit filed by a school district in eastern Kentucky was settled out of court.

Meta is also preparing for a second "bellwether trial" next month initiated by a 15-year-old boy from Florida, identified by the initials "R.K.C."

On the same day, NBC reported, citing the plaintiffs' attorneys, that TikTok, another social media operator, had reached a surprise settlement with the plaintiffs ahead of that trial. Google's video service, YouTube, had also previously settled with the same plaintiff.

Consequently, only Meta and Snap are expected to remain as defendants when the trial convenes at the Los Angeles court on July 27.