--- title: A US court just cleared thousands of social media harm... description: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is a defense against liability, not blanket immunity, allowing... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/a-us-court-just-cleared-thousands-of-social-media-harm-lawsuits-to-proceed-gfiytke24 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: A US court just cleared thousands of social media harm lawsuits to proceed | daily.dev og:description: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is a defense against liability, not blanket immunity, allowing... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/a-us-court-just-cleared-thousands-of-social-media-harm-lawsuits-to-proceed-gfiytke24 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/GFIyTkE24.png og:image:alt: A US court just cleared thousands of social media harm lawsuits to proceed og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # A US court just cleared thousands of social media harm lawsuits to proceed **[The Next Web](https://daily.dev/sources/tnw)** · 4 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is a defense against liability, not blanket immunity, allowing thousands of lawsuits alleging social media harm to young people to proceed toward trial. The ruling affects Meta, TikTok, Snap, and YouTube, which face allegations of designing addictive products, bypassing parental controls, and exposing minors to exploitative content. This follows a March 2026 jury verdict finding Meta and YouTube negligent and awarding $6m in damages. A separate Meta trial focused on children's data begins August 14, 2026. The decision signals a broader global reckoning with social media's impact on youth, with legislative action in the US, Greece, and the UK also underway. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What did the Ninth Circuit rule about Section 230 and social media liability in the youth harm lawsuits? The Ninth Circuit ruled that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is 'a defense against liability, not blanket immunity from being sued.' This means Meta, TikTok, Snap, and YouTube can no longer use Section 230 to get youth-harm lawsuits dismissed early — they must now answer the claims on their merits, though Section 230 remains a valid defense at trial. _Developers building platforms for minors track how Section 230 reform unfolds on daily.dev._ ### What was the outcome of the first social media addiction trial against Meta and YouTube? A jury found Meta and YouTube negligent and liable, awarding $3 million in compensatory damages to a plaintiff who alleged social media addiction caused depression, anxiety, and body dysmorphia, with an additional $3 million recommended in punitive damages. TikTok and Snap settled before the trial began rather than risk a verdict. _Platform engineers and product teams watching these verdicts shape design accountability follow the story on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Judge clears states to try claim that Meta hooked children on Facebook and Instagram](https://daily.dev/posts/judge-clears-states-to-try-claim-that-meta-hooked-children-on-facebook-and-instagram-pq6ihibbp) · The Next Web · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Zuckerberg grilled in court over social media harms on teens](https://daily.dev/posts/zuckerberg-grilled-in-court-over-social-media-harms-on-teens-gfpipndtg) · TechCrunch · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [New Jersey teen drops claims against Meta, Google, and Snap weeks before trial](https://daily.dev/posts/new-jersey-teen-drops-claims-against-meta-google-and-snap-weeks-before-trial-hab74erdo) · The Next Web · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Child exploitation, grooming, and social media addiction claims put Meta on trial](https://daily.dev/posts/child-exploitation-grooming-and-social-media-addiction-claims-put-meta-on-trial-vw3aamxml) · Security Boulevard · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#social-media](https://daily.dev/tags/social-media), [#tiktok](https://daily.dev/tags/tiktok) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/a-us-court-just-cleared-thousands-of-social-media-harm-lawsuits-to-proceed-gfiytke24) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"A US court just cleared thousands of social media harm lawsuits to proceed","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/a-us-court-just-cleared-thousands-of-social-media-harm-lawsuits-to-proceed-gfiytke24","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/a-us-court-just-cleared-thousands-of-social-media-harm-lawsuits-to-proceed-gfiytke24"},"datePublished":"2026-08-11T09:19:15.145Z","dateModified":"2026-08-11T09:45:36.538Z","description":"The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is a defense against liability, not blanket immunity, allowing...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/ec2eb347693f35bf53e1dc342c2d55b1?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/ec2eb347693f35bf53e1dc342c2d55b1?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"The Next Web","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Next Web","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/tnw","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/tnw"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/a-us-court-just-cleared-thousands-of-social-media-harm-lawsuits-to-proceed-gfiytke24","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"social-media,tiktok","timeRequired":"PT4M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Next Web","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/tnw"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"A US court just cleared thousands of social media harm lawsuits to proceed"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/a-us-court-just-cleared-thousands-of-social-media-harm-lawsuits-to-proceed-gfiytke24#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What did the Ninth Circuit rule about Section 230 and social media liability in the youth harm lawsuits?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The Ninth Circuit ruled that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is 'a defense against liability, not blanket immunity from being sued.' This means Meta, TikTok, Snap, and YouTube can no longer use Section 230 to get youth-harm lawsuits dismissed early — they must now answer the claims on their merits, though Section 230 remains a valid defense at trial. Developers building platforms for minors track how Section 230 reform unfolds on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What was the outcome of the first social media addiction trial against Meta and YouTube?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"A jury found Meta and YouTube negligent and liable, awarding $3 million in compensatory damages to a plaintiff who alleged social media addiction caused depression, anxiety, and body dysmorphia, with an additional $3 million recommended in punitive damages. TikTok and Snap settled before the trial began rather than risk a verdict. Platform engineers and product teams watching these verdicts shape design accountability follow the story on daily.dev."}}]} ```