Social Media on Trial: Everything you need to know
There have been two jury verdicts handed down within 24 hours of each other this week that have big tech rattled. And for a good reason. At its core, there’s a consequential legal and ethical debate at the centre: when a technology platform is engineered to be addictive, who bears responsibility for the harm it causes?
Snacks are made to be addictive too. So are TV shows. What role do personal decisions play in this? How about parental oversight?
Both verdicts will almost certainly be appealed, but this isn’t a simple issue.
The Los Angeles Verdict
On Wednesday, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury found Meta and Google’s YouTube negligent in the design of their social media platforms, awarding $3 million in compensatory damages and an additional $3 million in punitive damages. The jury having found that both companies acted with “malice, oppression or fraud,” with Meta bearing 70% of the responsibility and YouTube being accountable for 30%.
The plaintiff, identified in…
