Meta Found Liable in Child Safety, Online Addiction Civil Lawsuits
Mark Zuckerberg Meta Found Liable in Civil Lawsuits Failed to Protect Kids From Predators, Promoted Kids' Online Addiction
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It’s a bad day to be Mark Zuckerberg ... Meta was just hit with a couple of huge verdicts and ordered to pay big after being found liable in two different lawsuits this week.
Tuesday, a New Mexico jury found Meta liable for failing to protect kids from sexual predators … and the company was ordered to pony up $375M in damages. Then on Wednesday, an L.A. jury found both Meta and YouTube liable in a separate social media addiction trial, finding the companies designed their platforms to be addictive to young users.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez sued Meta back in 2023, claiming Facebook and Instagram created a “breeding ground” for predators. A Meta spokesperson said the company will be appealing the decision because they “respectfully” disagree with the ruling, CNN reports.
In the California case, a 20-year-old named Kaley and her mother sued Meta, YouTube, Snap, and TikTok, claiming the companies got Kaley intentionally addicted to their social media sites. Both Snap and TikTok settled before the trial.
The L.A. jury found Meta to be 70% responsible and YouTube 30% responsible. Kaley and her mother have been awarded $3 mil in compensatory damages and another $3 million in punitive damages.
The L.A. Times reports Google -- which owns YouTube -- and Meta both plan to appeal.
