School Districts’ Complaints Survive Dismissal Motion in Social Media MDL

SAN FRANCISCO — The judge overseeing the MDL docket for cases accusing social media platforms of exploiting young users for profit has largely denied their motion to dismiss claims brought by several school districts, ruling that they are not barred by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

In an Oct. 24 order, Judge Yvonne G. Rogers of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California found that Section 230 does not bar the failure-to-warn claims and claims targeting certain of the platforms’ features, such as appearance-altering filters, features relating to restricting time spent on the platform, and …