Mark Zuckerberg excluded from personal liability in youth social media addiction cases

In a recent ruling, a federal judge has dismissed attempts to hold Mark Zuckerberg personally liable in a series of lawsuits that accuse Meta Platforms Inc. and other social media giants of fostering addiction in young users.

The ruling by US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers found that the revised complaints against the Meta CEO still lacked the legal basis to proceed with individual claims against him.

This decision exempts Zuckerberg from personal accountability but does not alter the cases against Meta as a company.

The lawsuits, representing the interests of young users, argue that Zuckerberg ignored warnings from Meta employees regarding the dangers posed by Instagram and Facebook to children and allegedly chose not to disclose these findings publicly. Legal experts note that under corporate law, it is typically challenging to hold top executives personally accountable, as they are usually shielded from liability for corporate actions.

Judge Rogers noted that while further evidence might later suggest a deeper involvement by Zuckerberg in concealing the risks, the current allegations were insufficient to establish corporate-officer liability.

These cases are part of a broader legal effort involving over 1,000 lawsuits filed in California courts by families and public school districts. Meta, Alphabet Inc.'s Google, ByteDance Ltd.'s TikTok, and Snap Inc., the owner of Snapchat, are all named in this wave of litigation targeting alleged harm caused to adolescents by their platforms.

While Judge Rogers and a state judge in Los Angeles have permitted certain claims against these companies to proceed, some have been dismissed.

This case is officially filed as In Re Social Media Adolescent Addiction/Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation, No. 22-md-03047, in the US District Court, Northern District of California (Oakland).