A US judge has dismissed a shareholder lawsuit against Meta Platforms and its chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, that accused them of misleading investors about child safety on Facebook and Instagram.
District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco ruled on Tuesday that the plaintiff, Matt Eisner, failed to demonstrate that shareholders suffered economic losses due to alleged inadequate disclosures in Meta's proxy statement.
Eisner had argued that Meta violated securities law by not detailing the severity of sexually explicit content and child exploitation on its platforms, nor the child-protection strategies it chose not to adopt. However, Breyer wrote that the law did not require Meta to argue against its own recommendations or highlight its failures.
The lawsuit sought to block Meta's 2024 annual meeting and void election results, but Breyer had previously refused to halt the meeting, describing many of Meta's child safety assurances as 'aspirational'. The dismissal is with prejudice, meaning Eisner cannot sue again on the same grounds.
Meta still faces numerous lawsuits from state attorneys general and hundreds of cases from children, parents, and school districts over social media addiction, alongside similar actions against TikTok, Snapchat, and other platforms.
