In court filings, Meta said that the four sets of documents contain actionable legal advice on how to mitigate certain risks and “modify or use careful language.” Meta also said that the documents show communication about how to describe and present research rather than delete or falsify it.
A Washington, D.C.-based court has ruled against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, ordering it hand a trove of internal documents over to the district’s attorney general, Brian Schwalb.
According to Reuters, the Thursday decision was issued by a three-judge panel of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. The ruling effectively denies a motion filed on behalf of Meta, which sought to overturn a lower court’s order compelling it to produce documents for discovery.
The four documents specifically at issue were described in court filings as communications between Meta researchers about “youth well-being.” A D.C. Superior Court judge had earlier found that these correspondences are not shielded by attorney-client privilege because they fall under an exception that strips confidentiality if the communications are used to further, or conceal, an act of either crime or fraud.
Meta, in response, issued a statement voicing its displeasure with the ruling.
“Our legal team partners with researchers to help ensure studies comply with the law and that research summaries are clear and accurate,” Meta said.
In court filings, Meta said that the four sets of documents contain actionable legal advice on how to mitigate certain risks and “modify or use careful language.” Meta also said that the documents show communication about how to describe and present research rather than delete or falsify it.
But Judge Roy McLeese, writing for the D.C.-based appeals court, found that Meta failed to establish how, if at all, Superior Court Judge Yvonne Williams erred in holding that the company “sought and heeded the advice of its counsel obfuscate its potential liability during the related multidistrict litigation.”
“As we have noted, we see no clear and indisputable error in the trial court’s ruling that there was probable cause that Meta used attorneys to further an alleged fraud,” McLeese said.
Schwalb’s lawsuit, similar to other actions filed across the country, accuses Meta of “knowingly designing” Instagram and its other social media platforms “with features that lure in and addict children and cause harm to their mental, emotional, and physical health.”
Meta, Schwalb says, knew that its practices could come at a high cost, yet continued to prioritize youth engagement for the sake of continued profitability.
“Children are particularly susceptible to addictive technologies, and Meta has exploited these vulnerabilities, putting its quest for advertising revenue over the psychological and emotional well-being of young people,” Schwalb said in a 2023 statement announcing the lawsuit. “Despite knowing that its products can cause children significant and long-term psychological harms, Meta has downplayed the risks its products pose and has repeatedly and deceptively claimed its products are safe for young users. This lawsuit seeks to end Meta’s exploitation of young people and remedy the damage it has done to an entire generation.”
Sources
Court says Meta must turn over ‘youth-user wellbeing’ records to DC attorney general
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