Big Tech's Reckoning: Landmark Rulings Hold Meta and YouTube Accountable!
 

Juries in two separate trials in California and New Mexico delivered back-to-back verdicts against Big Tech in cases citing addiction, online harms and enabling the exploitation of minors, signaling that we are moving closer to holding Big Tech accountable for the risks its platforms pose to children.

On March 25, in Los Angeles, a jury found Meta and YouTube negligent for deliberately designing platforms that addict young users and contribute to serious mental health harms. The case, brought by a plaintiff identified as KGM who began using these platforms as a child, linked prolonged social media use to depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. The jury awarded $6 million in damages. The lawsuit also named Snapchat and TikTok, which settled out of court, while Meta and Google (YouTube) proceeded to trial and now face the consequences of the jury’s decision.

“The jury is no longer out and justice is finally in. Today, Big Tech is facing a reckoning for the harms these companies have caused to children and teens. With the Los Angeles jury finding that Meta and YouTube led to the plaintiff being addicted to their platforms and suffering from a plethora of harms, it is clear that this verdict paves the way for more lawsuits from others who have suffered harm,” said Donna Rice Hughes, Enough Is Enough^®'s President and CEO.

The California trial focused on features like infinite scroll and notifications, arguing they were designed to "hook" young users, causing addiction, depression, and body dysmorphia.

On March 24, a New Mexico jury found Meta liable for enabling child sexual exploitation on its platforms, awarding a staggering $375 million in damages. 

Evidence presented during the trial revealed: 

• Over 500,000 children were targeted with sexually inappropriate messages per day on Facebook
• 7.5 million child sexual abuse material reports that allegedly wouldn’t be disclosed after Zuckerberg’s 2019 decision to make Facebook Messenger end-to-end encrypted by default
• Instagram’s former head of safety said that Meta wouldn’t remove an account reportedly engaged in sex trafficking unless it was reported at least 17 times

“Meta has knowingly enabled child sexual exploitation on its platforms and harmed children irreparably, refusing to put the safety of children over profits for over a decade. The legal precedent this verdict sets is tremendous, as it not only holds Big Tech accountable but also liable, and that’s where it hurts. In fact, a verdict like this hits all of Big Tech’s pressure points – it negatively impacts their bottom line, creates a nightmare of bad press, affirms the need for common sense legislation, sends a clarion call to other Big Tech companies to put safety over profits, and empowers other plaintiffs and prosecutors to pursue litigation,” said Donna Rice Hughes. 

Together, these verdicts send a clear message: the era of unchecked harm is coming to an end.