‘Accountability has arrived’: dual US court losses show shifting tide against Meta and co
Summary
Two juries in the US recently found Meta liable for harm caused to young people by its social media products. One jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million for harms including child sexual exploitation, and another ordered Meta and YouTube to pay $6 million for designing addictive products targeting youth.Key Facts
- A New Mexico jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million over claims its products led to child sexual exploitation and other harms.
- A California jury ordered Meta and YouTube to pay $6 million for deliberately designing addictive social media products to hook young users.
- These are the first court cases to find Meta responsible for harm to young people caused by its products.
- Over 2,000 plaintiffs, including families, schools, and state officials, have brought lawsuits against Meta, YouTube, TikTok, and Snap.
- The California jury found Meta and YouTube acted with malice, oppression, and fraud by a 10-2 vote.
- Meta and YouTube disagree with the verdicts and plan to appeal them.
- Advocates are using lawsuits, public campaigns, and calls for government rules to push social media companies to protect children better.
- Juries in these cases can only award money and cannot force social media companies to change their products.
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