- This piece was originally published on Tech Policy Press
Juries in New Mexico and California delivered twin verdicts this week finding tech giants Meta and Google liable for harms to young users on their platforms, watershed decisions that could open the door to more lawsuits alleging that the companies fuel addiction or endanger kids.
A jury in New Mexico found that Facebook parent company Meta violated the state’s consumer protection laws by misleading users about the safety of its platforms, awarding $375 million in civil penalties to the plaintiffs in a first-of-its-kind state enforcement decision. The case focused heavily on claims that the company failed to prevent and alert users to sexual predation on its sites.
Meanwhile, a jury in California found Meta and Google-owned YouTube to be negligent in using addictive design features that led to mental distress for a young woman. The jury awarded the plaintiff $3 million in compensatory damages, with Meta bearing the brunt of the cost, and an additional $3 million in punitive damages.
