US supreme court rejects meta's appeal in Vermont social media addiction case

A bid by Meta to avoid a lawsuit brought by Vermont’s attorney general over allegedly addictive social media app designs has been rejected by the Supreme Court of the United States. The justices declined Meta’s appeal of a lower court ruling that allowed the lawsuit to proceed, rejecting the company’s argument that courts in Vermont lack jurisdiction over the dispute.

The case is part of a broader wave of litigation brought by individuals, municipalities, states and school districts across the United States amid growing backlash over the impact of social media on young users. Many of these lawsuits focus on how companies designed and operated their platforms.

Vermont has alleged that Instagram was designed to “exploit teenagers” by fostering addictive behaviour to increase advertising revenue, including ads targeted at Vermont users and teenagers. The state also accuses Meta of misleading consumers about the safety of its products.

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The lawsuit forms part of a larger effort involving 42 state attorneys general who have filed enforcement actions in both state and federal courts nationwide. Meta sought to have the Vermont case dismissed, arguing that allowing the lawsuit to proceed in Vermont would violate its due process rights under the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution by potentially exposing the company to similar legal challenges in all 50 states.

However, the Vermont Supreme Court in 2025 dismissed Meta’s due process concerns, ruling that the state’s allegations regarding harmful platform design and misleading practices justified the lawsuit moving forward. Meta’s appeal to the US Supreme Court follows several recent setbacks for the company in state courts. In April, the top court in Massachusetts ruled that Meta must also face a similar youth addiction lawsuit filed by the state attorney general.

In March, a jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million in civil penalties in a lawsuit filed by New Mexico’s attorney general, who accused the company of misleading users about the safety of Facebook and Instagram while failing to prevent child sexual exploitation on the platforms.

That same month, a jury in Los Angeles found Meta and Google negligent for creating social media platforms deemed harmful to minors, awarding $6 million to a 20-year-old woman who said she developed a social media addiction during childhood.

In May, Meta also settled a lawsuit brought by a school district in Kentucky, one of thousands of cases seeking compensation for costs linked to a youth mental health crisis allegedly worsened by social media platforms.