In a February 23 court appearance, Meta giant Mark Zuckerberg is set to try to skirt personal liability in dozens of lawsuits, according to Bloomberg. This is despite his being directly named in numerous court cases that accuse Meta of making children addicted to platforms like Instagram and Facebook.

If Zuckerberg can convince the judge to dismiss personal litigation against him, the allegations and legal cases against Meta will remain upheld. This is significant because of the precedent it can potentially set in terms of holding tech giants to account. As pointed out by the New York Post, “Should US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers decide to hold Zuckerberg personally liable in the lawsuits, the decision could serve as a model for other social media users looking to hold tech behemoth CEOs responsible in mass personal injury litigation.”

Meta bites back

A Meta spokesperson also told the outlet that plenty of precedent proves that being an executive for a corporation doesn’t automatically make you liable for the broader behavior of said corporation. This is because the decision-making at such companies is usually very layered and involves multiple parties. The spokesperson also pointed out that these claims don’t explicitly say whether Zuckerberg violated a legal duty and said that the lawsuit should be entirely dismissed because of this.

To determine this question, Judge Gonzalez Rogers has asked both sides to share how current laws covering negligent misrepresentation and CEOs’ responsibility vary in different US states. In the legal filing, the plaintiff’s lawyers argue that, as the CEO of Meta, Zuckerberg is responsible for ” speaking fully and truthfully on the risks Meta’s platforms pose to children’s health.”

“With great power comes great responsibility,” the lawyers added. “Unfortunately, Mr. Zuckerberg has not lived up to that maxim.”

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