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Verdicts Against Meta, YouTube Spur New Momentum for Kids Online Safety Push
Juries awarded $375 million in damages, finding social media platforms negligent for addictive designs harming children's mental health.
- Back-to-Back jury verdicts in California and New Mexico found Meta and YouTube liable for harming children's mental health, ordering combined damages of $381 million across both cases.
- These cases focus on addictive design features rather than content that keep children on screens for hours. Holly Grosshans, senior counsel for tech policy at Common Sense Media, told The Hill on Thursday: "This is not about that content."
- The verdicts mark a "watershed moment" as the first to bypass Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a 1996 provision that typically shields tech platforms from liability for user content.
- Meta stated it will appeal, arguing the verdicts reduce complex mental health issues to a single cause. Lawmakers renewed calls to pass the Kids Online Safety Act and COPPA 2.0 to impose guardrails on platforms.
- Critics warn the rulings could open the "floodgates of litigation" against smaller and midsize tech companies. Jennifer Huddleston, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, cautioned costly legal battles could undermine market competition.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Ruling against Meta and Google could set the stage for changes in handling hate content
A decisive ruling against Meta and Google in a closely-watched trial regarding social media addiction may expand liability for platforms when it comes to hateful content.The case focused on a 20-year-old California woman, identified as K.G.M., who alleged the platforms fueled addictive use as a minor and contributed to her depression and suicidal thoughts through their engagement-driven design.The companies have denied wrongdoing, pointing to th…
Verdicts against Meta, YouTube spur new momentum for kids online safety push
Back-to-back verdicts against Meta and Google’s YouTube sent a warning shot to Big Tech this week, marking the first time juries found the social media platforms liable for their impact on kids and teens online. As Congress remains at a stalemate over how to regulate platforms and protect children online, legal and technology experts say…
In wake of US social media verdicts, look at what limits other countries have imposed for kids
On Wednesday, a Los Angeles jury found both Meta and YouTube liable for harms to children using their services. A day earlier in New Mexico, a jury determined that Meta knowingly harmed children's mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms.
The Columbian
Carolina Coast OnlineIn the wake of US social media verdicts, a look at what limits other countries have imposed for kids
Dual jury verdicts this week have validated longstanding concerns about the dangers of social media for young people. But the U.S. lacks federal regulation that meaningfully addresses these harms. Read more...
As Big tech found liable for harm it's now up to Government to Act
Molly Rose Foundation is calling for the Government to act after Meta and Google were found liable for social media harm in lawsuits in the US. Following the lawsuits in Los Angeles and New Mexico our CEO Andy Burrows appeared on BBC Breakfast and called for a new Online Safety Act to be announced in the upcoming King’s Speech. His calls were echoed by our Chair Ian Russell who gave evidence against Meta in the New Mexico trial. In his evidence …
Jury verdicts against Meta and Google spotlight evolution of liability risk
Two recent jury verdicts against Meta and Google are drawing attention as early signals of evolving liability risks, according to a new Moody’s report. In separate cases, juries found the companies liable under claims that certain harms were linked to software platforms engineered to maximise user engagement. Moody’s stressed that the verdicts are just an initial data point. The broader significance reportedly lies less in the outcomes themselve…
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