09:42 AM EDT, 10/25/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates to add response from Google ( GOOG ) spokesperson in the fifth paragraph.)

Meta Platforms ( META ) , Alphabet's (GOOG) Google ( GOOG ), Snap (SNAP), and TikTok will have to face some of the claims made by school districts and local government entities over their allegedly addictive apps causing mental health issues among minors, but with limited scope, a US federal judge ordered Thursday.

US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the US District Court for the Northern District of California denied in part a request to dismiss claims of negligence and public nuisance against Meta's Facebook and Instagram, Google's ( GOOG ) YouTube ( GOOG ), Snap's Snapchat, and ByteDance's TikTok.

Rogers said some of the claims are invalidated by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields internet companies from lawsuits stemming from content generated by their users.

The schools accuse the platforms of deliberately designing their apps to encourage compulsive use, which causes mental and physical health deterioration. They are seeking damages for being on the "front lines" of addressing the damage caused by these online platforms to their students.

"The allegations in these complaints are simply not true," a Google ( GOOG ) spokesperson said in response to MT Newswires request for comment.

Meta, Snap and TikTok did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' requests for comment.

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