Meta Platforms defeats shareholder lawsuit over child safety claims
By Jonathan Stempel
Oct 22 (Reuters) -Meta Platforms META.O 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.
"In essence, Eisner would have had Meta argue against its own recommendations, tout the benefits of tools it ultimately rejected, highlight its own failures, and devalue its own successes," Breyer wrote. "That is not necessary."
Eisner's lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Lawyers for Meta and Zuckerberg did not immediately respond to similar requests.
The lawsuit sought to block Meta from holding its 2024 annual meeting until the proxy statement was amended, void election results if the meeting were held, and have Meta and Zuckerberg cover Eisner's legal fees and costs.
Breyer had in June refused to enjoin the meeting, saying many of Meta's assurances in the proxy statement that it was committed to children's safety were simply "aspirational" and did not justify the lawsuit.
Tuesday's dismissal was with prejudice, meaning Eisner cannot sue Meta and Zuckerberg again.
Meta still faces lawsuits by dozens of state attorneys general accusing the Menlo Park, California-based company of addicting children to its apps while downplaying the risks.
It also faces hundreds of lawsuits by children, their parents and school districts over social media addiction. The operators of TikTok, Snapchat and other apps face hundreds of similar lawsuits of their own.
The case is Eisner v Meta Platforms Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 24-02175.
Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York
Editing by Matthew Lewis
Berita Terkini
Penafian: Entiti XM Group menyediakan perkhidmatan pelaksanaan sahaja dan akses ke Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian, yang membolehkan sesorang melihat dan/atau menggunakan kandungan yang ada di dalam atau melalui laman web, tidak bertujuan untuk mengubah atau memperluas, juga tidak mengubah atau mengembangkannya. Akses dan penggunaan tersebut tertakluk kepada: (i) Terma dan Syarat; (ii) Amaran Risiko; dan Penafian Penuh. Oleh itu, kandungan sedemikian disediakan tidak lebih dari sekadar maklumat umum. Terutamanya, perlu diketahui bahawa kandungan Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian bukan permintaan, atau tawaran untuk melakukan transaksi dalam pasaran kewangan. Berdagang dalam mana-mana pasaran kewangan melibatkan tahap risiko yang besar terhadap modal anda.
Semua bahan yang diterbitkan di Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian kami bertujuan hanya untuk tujuan pendidikan/maklumat dan tidak mengandungi – dan tidak boleh dianggap mengandungi nasihat kewangan, cukai pelaburan atau dagangan dan cadangan, atau rekod harga dagangan kami, atau tawaran, atau permintaan untuk suatu transaksi dalam sebarang instrumen kewangan atau promosi kewangan yang tidak diminta kepada anda.
Sebarang kandungan pihak ketiga serta kandungan yang disediakan oleh XM, seperti pendapat, berita, penyelidikan, analisis, harga, maklumat lain atau pautan ke laman web pihak ketiga yang terdapat dalam laman web ini disediakan berdasarkan "seadanya" sebagai ulasan pasaran umum dan bukanlah nasihat pelaburan. Sesuai dengan apa-apa kandungan yang ditafsir sebagai penyelidikan pelaburan, anda mestilah ambil perhatian dan menerima bahawa kandungan tersebut tidak bertujuan dan tidak sediakan berdasarkan keperluan undang-undang yang direka untuk mempromosikan penyelidikan pelaburan bebas dan oleh itu, ia dianggap sebagai komunikasi pemasaran di bawah peraturan dan undang-undang yang berkaitan. SIla pastikan bahawa anda telah membaca dan memahami Notifikasi mengenai Penyelidikan Pelaburan Bukan Bebas dan Amaran Risiko mengenai maklumat di atas yang boleh diakses di sini.
