US Edition
Big Tech critics hail ‘Big Tobacco moment’ in landmark social media verdict
The ruling requires tech platforms to implement multiple safeguards for minors after finding Meta and Google liable for designing addictive features that harmed youth.
- On Wednesday, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury found Meta and Google liable for harming a minor, K.G.M., by knowingly designing addictive products, marking a significant legal setback for both tech giants.
- The trial centered on allegations that Meta and Google deliberately engineered addictive features to keep young users hooked, with lawyers arguing platforms profited from targeting children while concealing dangerous design flaws.
- Jurors ordered Meta to pay $4.2 million and YouTube to pay $1.8 million in damages; crucially, the ruling bypasses Section 230, the legal shield companies have long used to deflect liability for online content.
- Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn and other lawmakers view the decision as momentum to pass the Kids Online Safety Act, arguing the finding proves companies must face accountability for online harms.
- Experts compare this outcome to landmark litigation against Big Tobacco, though Meta and Google plan to appeal; with 20 more bellwether trials scheduled, the industry faces prolonged legal challenges regarding platform safety.
25 Articles
25 Articles
Is this Big Tech’s Big Tobacco moment?
This week saw what could prove to be an historic reckoning for Big Tech when a Californian court ruled that Meta and Google’s YouTube intentionally built addictive social media platforms. This came just a day after a jury in New Mexico found Meta liable for the way its platforms endanger children. Critics are calling this “Big Tech’s Big Tobacco moment”, a reference to how cigarette makers in the 1990s had to overhaul their businesses after cour…
Specialist Joan Cwaik analyzed in Infobae in the afternoon the impact of recent convictions to Meta and YouTube by the addictive mechanisms of their platforms, and warned about the lack of regulation to protect minors in Argentina
Meta, Google risk big tobacco-like fallout after California addiction trial
Unless the verdict is overturned on appeal, the companies may need to change how their products work, a move that could jeopardize the valuable advertising businesses that keep platforms like Instagram and YouTube so profitable.
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