Meta Platforms defeats shareholder lawsuit over child safety claims

October 22, 2024

Meta Platforms and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg won the dismissal of a lawsuit claiming they misled shareholders in Meta’s proxy statement about their ability to ensure the safety of children who use Facebook and Instagram. In a decision on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco said the plaintiff Matt Eisner failed to show that shareholders suffered economic losses from Meta’s alleged inadequate disclosures. He also said federal securities law did not require Meta to detail the severity of sexually explicit content and sexual exploitation of children on its platforms, or all the child protection strategies it decided not to adopt.