Twenty years after social media was hailed as a technology that would connect people across divides, Meta, Google, Snapchat, TikTok, Discord and Roblox are facing thousands of US lawsuits claiming they have instead harmed children. The outcome, whether through settlements or jury verdicts, could change how social platforms operate forever.
“It’s created a stage that not only legal observers are watching, but regulators and lawmakers are watching closely as well,” said Eric Talley, a lawyer and professor at Columbia Law School. He noted that the wave of lawsuits is feeding into public perception and is likely to influence political elections and new laws for years.
“Social media firms face thousands of US lawsuits over child harm; experts call it an 'inflection point'.”
Many of the cases are going through courts in California, where all major social platforms are headquartered. Legal and policy changes in the state, known as the “California effect”, tend to lead to nationwide changes.
“There’s no denying anymore that there is an issue with child safety on the platforms,” said Alexis Shore Ingber, a communications law expert and professor at Syracuse University. “We are seeing an inflection point. These cases are significant.”
Already this year, Meta and YouTube notched an unprecedented loss in a case brought by a young woman who claimed she was addicted as a child to social media, contributing to her mental and emotional health struggles. A jury ordered the companies to pay her a combined $6m (£4.5m) in damages. Both firms said they disagreed with the verdict and intended to appeal.
Meta also lost a bigger case in New Mexico, brought by the state’s attorney general accusing the company of misleading the public that its platforms were safe for children despite known issues with sexual exploitation. Meta said it also plans to appeal against this verdict.
During the years these cases were brought and resolved, Meta has released changes to its platforms aimed at making them safer for young users. But broader change to how platforms are designed, function and even accessed is likely to take years more, and more court rulings against them. Between this year and next, Meta and the other major social platforms are poised to fight their way through more trials where juries could consider a host of claims by young users, their parents and school districts.