Instagram, Facebook Addiction Lawyer Ads Pulled as Meta Faces Massive Lawsuits Damage Awards

Observers expect an influx of social media addiction lawsuits against Meta after a California jury held the company liable for a young woman’s addiction and mental health damage.

After losing two landmark lawsuits involving allegations that Instagram and Facebook are designed to cause harmful social media addiction among children, Meta has decided to pull all lawyer advertisements from the platforms, which seek to inform users that they may be eligible for financial compensation.

According to a report by Axios, Meta announced last week that it was pulling ads from law firms soliciting potential plaintiffs for the Instagram and Facebook social medial addiction lawsuits. The report indicates more than a dozen ads were removed last Thursday from the two platforms, as well as Threads, Messenger and Audience Network, which are all Meta products.

The ban on attorney advertisements come after Meta faced major losses in two recent trials that ended in late March, with the company indicating that it had the right to restrict or remove access to ads, content or features that could negatively impact its services or cause adverse legal or regulatory impacts on the company.

Social Media Lawsuits

Meta, as well as Google, TikTok and other technology companies face thousands of social media addiction lawsuits filed in state and federal courts nationwide, each raising similar allegations that the platforms were intentionally designed to encourage obsessive and compulsive use, especially among vulnerable teens.

Families now say these designs, including data-driven algorithms that allegedly violate children’s privacy, intentionally cause devastating mental health disorders among teens and young adults, resulting in anxiety, depression, eating disorders and behavioral issues, in some cases resulting in self-harm and suicide.

In addition to claims by individuals, Meta and other social media companies also face lawsuits brought by local governments, states and school districts who say they have had to foot the costs for counseling, therapy and tutoring to counter the negative effects of social media addiction on students.

Social Media Addiction Verdicts

The first social media addiction trial, involving a claim brought by the state of New Mexico, resulted in a $375 million verdict against Meta, after the company was found to have violated state and federal laws by misusing children’s private data. Just days later, a jury in California state court awarded a young woman $6 million in damages for severe anxiety and depression that was caused by her social media addiction as a teen.

In that trial, brought by a woman identified only as K.G.M., Meta was ordered to pay $4.2 million of the judgment, while Google was ordered to pay $1.8 million.

The two trials were being closely watched to see whether juries would hold the websites liable for personal injury claims. Observers called the California decision a landmark verdict that could open the flood gates to further litigation by parents and young adults nationwide over allegations of mental health damage.

Social Media Bellwether Trials

Both cases were considered “bellwether” trials designed to see how juries are likely to respond to evidence and testimony that could be repeated throughout numerous youth social media addiction lawsuits nationwide.

While not binding on other claims, these early test trials could help lawyers negotiate Instagram and Facebook addiction settlements with Meta, without the need for thousands of long and expensive individual trials.

Although the first two claims were held in state courts, most social media addiction lawsuits have been filed in federal court and consolidated as part of a multidistrict litigation (MDL) before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in the Northern District of California for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

Judge Rogers is preparing to hold a series of additional bellwether trials, with the first scheduled to begin on June 15 involving claims by Kentucky’s Breathitt County Board of Education.

Following these bellwether cases, if no social media addiction settlement is reached, the claims may be remanded back to their originating districts for individual trial dates.

Sign up for more legal news that could affect you or your family.