Overview

• U.S. District Judge Edward Davila denied efforts by Apple, Google and Meta to dismiss consolidated class actions over casino-style apps on their platforms.
• He ruled the companies were not acting as publishers when processing in‑app payments, narrowing their Section 230 immunity.
• Davila dismissed some state-law counts and most California consumer-protection claims but allowed most other consumer-protection claims to proceed.
• Plaintiffs allege the platforms promoted addictive social casinos, took about 30% of purchases and generated more than $2 billion from processed transactions.
• The multi-district litigation, active since 2021 in the Northern District of California, continues toward discovery as the companies may immediately appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.