Although Meta has tried to keep the lawsuit out of state court, the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected its most recent appeal. The justices did not offer an explanation for their unanimous decision, though Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark has since cast the ruling as a significant victory.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an attempt by Meta to shut down Vermont’s social media addiction lawsuit.
According to The Associated Press, Meta launched its appeal shortly after the Vermont Supreme Court determined that the lawsuit, in its current form, could proceed. Attorneys for the company said that Meta can’t be sued in a Vermont court because it has no substantive ties to the state.
In response, Vermont officials argued for local jurisdiction, pointing out that many of the state’s teenagers use Meta products, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Vermont’s lawsuit accuses Meta of intentionally designing these platforms to be as addictive as possible, leading to a burgeoning mental health crisis among children and young adults.
“Instagram’s harm to teens, and particularly girls and young women, is well-documented,” Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark said in an October 2023 statement announcing the lawsuit. “But Meta has denied and downplayed these harmful impacts for continued profits. Meta knowingly designed and developed Instagram features to exploit teens’ vulnerabilities to maximize revenue. This is reprehensible and a violation of Vermont’s Consumer Protection Act. This lawsuit aims to hold Meta accountable.”
The Associated Press notes that Vermont’s lawsuit was filed shortly after an investigation by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general found that Meta knew that its practices most likely hurt young users but failed to take meaningful corrective action.
“For years, Meta has deceptively led Vermont consumers—including prospective and actual Young Users of Instagram and their parents and guardians—to believe that Instagram is a safe social media platform for Young People,” the lawsuit alleges. “It has promoted misleading messages and metrics about the incident of harms to Young Users on the platform. Before U.S. Congress, it has downplayed the meaning of leaked internal Meta research on Instagram’s harms to youth and teen girls, in particularly; deceptively testified that Instagram is safe and provides age-appropriate experiences; and deceptively testified that Instagram does not cause compulsive and excessive platform use.”
“In the meantime,” the lawsuit says, “Meta has failed to disclose to consumers its internal findings that Instagram causes compulsive and excessive platform use; that such use causes Young Users harms; and that, beyond compulsive and excessive platform use, Instagram exposes Young Users to harmful content and harmful experiences.”
Although Meta has tried to keep the lawsuit out of state court, the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected its most recent appeal. The justices did not offer an explanation for their unanimous decision, though Clark has since cast the ruling as a significant victory for Vermonters.
Sources
Attorney General Clark Sues Meta for Instagram’s Harm to Teens’ Mental Health
Supreme Court rejects Meta’s appeal in Vermont social media addiction case
Join the conversation!