Important terms about TikTok lawsuits
The social media MDL is a type of mass tort. It is similar to a class action lawsuit but with some key differences:
Mass tort: This is a general term to describe a type of lawsuit where many people allege similar harms or injuries from similar parties, but each person files their own individual lawsuit. MDLs are ways of handling mass torts.
Multidistrict litigation (MDL): An MDL refers to a way of collecting lawsuits that allege similar injuries against similar defendants into one court system. This consolidation allows for a single judge to oversee the proceedings and helps establish common facts that may be used between lawsuits. While the early proceedings may be consolidated, plaintiffs maintain their individual case. This means the trials and decisions relate to only a single plaintiff at a time.
Class action: A class action lawsuit refers to a single lawsuit filed by one person or a small group of people on behalf of themselves and a larger group. The person or persons filing the lawsuits are known as “class representatives.” The larger group is the “class.” The people in the class, unlike a mass tort, do not file their own individual lawsuit. Class action lawsuits allege similar injuries between all members of the class. If the plaintiffs are successful, any award granted by the court will be divided equally amongst all members of the class. There is no TikTok class action related to mental health.
Section 230: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act provides some protections from federal liability for publishers of Internet content. Section 230 has often prevented social media platforms from being held liable for harms caused by their products. However, a recent ruling out of the Third Circuit may impact when companies like TikTok may be liable for content on their platform. For now, this ruling does not impact cases in the MDL. The MDL cases allege people are harmed by the design decisions of the platform's creators, not by any content poasted by platform users.