Meta Says School Districts’ Social Media Claims Barred by Section 230

SAN FRANCISCO — Meta Platforms Inc. is urging a California federal judge to dismiss public nuisance claims brought against it by various school districts in the social media MDL, arguing that they are barred by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act because they “directly target defendants’ roles as publishers.”

In a March 25 reply brief filed before Judge Yvonne G. Rogers of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Meta says “Section 230 bars public nuisance claims even where plaintiffs do not allege that they have themselves used the defendant’s service or exposed to harmful content.”