The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear Meta Platforms Inc.'s (NASDAQ:META) challenge to a Vermont lawsuit accusing the company of designing Instagram to be addictive for teenagers, allowing the case to proceed in state court.
Supreme Court Lets Case Move Forward
The justices on Tuesday rejected Meta's appeal seeking to block the lawsuit, which argues that Vermont courts lack jurisdiction over the company, Reuters reported.
The decision leaves intact a lower court ruling that permitted the state's consumer protection case to advance.
Vermont Alleges Harmful Design Targeting Teens
Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark filed the lawsuit in 2023, alleging that Instagram was engineered to exploit teenagers' psychological vulnerabilities to maximize engagement and advertising revenue.
The complaint also claimed Meta misrepresented the safety and addictive nature of its platform.
The state argued the platform was intentionally designed to "exploit teenagers' developing brains," contributing to compulsive usage and potential mental health harms.
Meta Pushes Back On Jurisdiction Claims
Meta has denied wrongdoing and argued the case should be dismissed, saying Vermont has no basis to claim jurisdiction since the alleged design decisions and communications did not originate in the state.
The company also warned that allowing such cases could expose it to lawsuits in all 50 states, raising due process concerns under the 14th Amendment.
Meta did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comments.
Price Action: Meta closed at $612.34, up 0.34% and edged down 0.21% in pre-market trading to $611.05, according to Benzinga Pro.
According to Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings, META has a strong Growth score of 88.94%, but it shows a negative trend across the short, medium and long-term timeframes.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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