US EditionUS jury verdicts against Meta, Google tee up fight over tech liability shield
Jurors awarded $381 million in combined damages after finding Meta and Google liable for mental health harms and sexual exploitation of young users, challenging Section 230 protections.
- A Los Angeles jury on Wednesday found Meta and Google liable for a young woman's depression, ordering $6 million in damages, following a Tuesday New Mexico verdict that ordered Meta to pay $375 million for misleading users about platform safety.
- Plaintiffs successfully bypassed Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act by arguing platform design choices, not user content, caused the harms; judges rejected dismissal motions, allowing cases to proceed to trial.
- More than 2,400 cases are centralized in California federal court, with thousands more consolidated in state court; related litigation includes over 130 lawsuits against Roblox Corporation alleging failures to protect children from exploitation.
- Meta stated it will appeal the verdicts and "remain committed to building safe, supportive environments for young people," while legal expert Eric Goldman, co-director of the High Tech Law Institute, said "I think the internet is on trial, not social media."
- Appellate rulings could reshape tech platform liability and potentially prompt Supreme Court review, especially as Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch previously warned that companies use Section 230 as a "get-out-of-jail free card.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Researcher reacts to verdicts against Meta, Google over social media and kids
Two of the world's largest social media companies, Meta and Google, were handed legal defeats this week as juries ruled against them in cases focused on the safety of children using their platforms.
Jurors: Google, Meta failed to protect minors from addiction, predators; Liability wall breached
by WorldTribune Staff, March 26, 2026 Non-AI Real World News A landmark decision against Meta/Facebook and Google this week has set the stage for thousands of lawsuits against the Big Tech titans over addictions to their apps. The longstanding legal liability shield, which allowed tech companies to flourish, was finally breached when a Los Angeles […]
US jury verdicts against Meta, Google tee up fight over tech liability shield
Jurors in the first two trials in the U.S. from a growing wave of lawsuits targeting social media firms over harm to children have found Meta and Alphabet's Google liable, potentially teeing up an appeals fight that could reshape how U.S. law shields tech companies from lawsuits.
A Different Perspective on the ‘Design Choices’ Social Media Company Verdicts – Pixel Envy
Mike Masnick, of Techdirt, unsurprisingly opposes the verdicts earlier this week finding Meta and Google guilty of liability for how their products impact children’s safety. I think it is a perspective worth reading. Unlike the Wall Street Journal, Masnick respects your intelligence and brings actual substance. Still, I have some disagreements. Masnick, on the “design choices” argument: This distinction — between “design” and “content” — sounds…
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