Zuckerberg Avoids Personal Liability in Meta Addiction Suits

Source: Bloomberg

April 15, 2024 at 6:36 PM EDT
Updated on April 15, 2024 at 7:49 PM EDT


Mark Zuckerberg won his bid to avoid personal liability in about two dozen lawsuits accusing Meta Platforms Inc. and other social media companies of addicting children to their products.

US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who is overseeing the cases, sided with the Meta chief executive officer in a ruling issued Monday. The decision dismisses Zuckerberg as an individual defendant without affecting claims against Meta as a company.

Lawsuits filed on behalf of young people have alleged that Zuckerberg was repeatedly warned that Instagram and Facebook weren’t safe for children but ignored the findings and chose not to share them publicly. Rogers ruled that Zuckerberg was not required to disclose safety information absent a “special relationship” with the users of Meta’s products, according to the order.

The judge also said Zuckerberg couldn’t be held liable just because he’s the public face of Meta. Finding otherwise would create “a duty to disclose for any individual recognizable to the public,” Rogers wrote in the ruling. “The court will not countenance such a novel approach here.”

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-15/zuckerberg-avoids-personal-liability-in-meta-addiction-suits