School Districts’ Lawsuits Against Tech Giants Added to Social Media MDL

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict litigation has transferred three lawsuits filed by school districts in Arizona and Washington to the MDL docket for cases accusing tech giants Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok of exploiting adolescents using a stream of addictive images and videos.

In a Feb. 23 order, the JPML assigned the actions to Judge Yvonne G. Rogers of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, finding they involve common questions of fact arising from allegations that defendants’ social media platforms are designed to maximize user screen time, which can encourage addictive behavior in …