Meta appears unlikely to avoid a trial as early as August in a lawsuit filed by 33 state attorneys general.
(CN) — Meta Platforms Inc. on Wednesday tried to convince a federal judge that there was no evidence to support claims by 33 state attorneys general that the owner of Facebook and Instagram knowingly misled consumers that the social media platforms are not addictive.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland did not rule on Meta’s bid for summary judgment that would have prevented the social media giant from suing the states. CHARGES she created Instagram and Facebook to get kids and teenagers addicted to them.
However, the judge, appointed by Barack Obama, did not appear convinced by Meta’s lawyers that the states’ claims could be resolved as a matter of law and that there were no factual disputes that would have to be decided by either her or a jury at trial.
One of the basic problems the judge said concerned her is that she did not know what specific statements Meta made that the AGs’ claims were false or misleading. Gonzalez Rogers, who is also overseeing mass multidistrict litigation against several social media companies by individuals, school districts and local governments, noted that she had not been provided with the approximately 130 alleged misrepresentations.
“I want a document that lists all the statements that you’re going forward with,” the judge told attorneys for the various states. “There’s no way I can make an analysis of some of these issues without actually knowing what it is that you’re walking into.”
Much of the discussion in the three-hour hearing focused on the extent to which statements made by Meta and its executives, including in congressional hearings and in internal communications, supported the states’ allegations that Meta sought to mislead consumers about the addictive nature of its products.
James Rouhandeh, one of Meta’s lawyers, argued that the company was entitled to summary judgment on the states’ claims that its executives intentionally or knowingly made false statements about whether Facebook and Instagram are addictive because, at least at the time those statements were made several years ago, social media addiction was not a recognized medical or psychiatric condition.
Megan O’Neill, an attorney with the California Department of Justice, disputed the extent to which various states’ consumer protection laws require a statement to be knowingly false for it to be considered deceptive.
Regarding Colorado’s consumer protection law, the judge observed that the statute defines a false statement as one that has the ability to deceive even if it does not.
“That doesn’t support what you’re saying,” she told Meta’s lawyer. “A false statement is not necessarily a true statement that is false or true. The question is whether it has the capacity to deceive — that’s what the law says.”
The judge granted Meta’s request to withdraw the demand for a jury trial. However, she said that if it were to proceed with a court trial, she would likely sit on an advisory jury to hear the evidence and render its verdict.
The trial is set for August 5, after the first bell be trial in multi-district litigation.
Last month, a California state court jury CLUE $6 million in damages to a woman who sued Meta and YouTube over claims she became addicted to their social media and streaming platforms as a child.
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