A 3-0 Ninth Circuit panel dismissed Meta and TikTok’s appeals, clearing the way for a California-led consumer-protection trial against Meta to move ahead this month.
Section 230 is a defense to liability, not immunity from suit, the judges said, leaving them without jurisdiction to halt the case on an interlocutory appeal.
August 12 jury selection is set to begin before an August 19 trial, and the court also denied Meta’s emergency bid to stay proceedings as moot.
More than $1.4 trillion in damages is at stake, according to Meta’s July filing, in claims by California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey that Meta deceived the public about addiction harms.
The ruling also reinforces a broader appellate decision letting thousands of youth social-media addiction lawsuits against major platforms continue.