The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected Meta's bid to block a lawsuit by Vermont's attorney general alleging Facebook and Instagram harmed young users, letting the case move forward. The court declined to hear Meta's appeal in a brief, unexplained order, leaving in place a Vermont Supreme Court ruling that allowed the 2023 suit to proceed. Meta had argued it could not be sued in Vermont because neither the company nor its app design has specific ties to the state, while Vermont said the large number of teen users gives its courts jurisdiction. The decision comes as Meta faces similar suits from states across the country accusing it of knowingly designing addictive features, and follows recent court losses for Meta and YouTube in social media addiction cases in California and New Mexico. Vermont's suit points to Meta's own internal research on Instagram's effects on teen girls.
