For years I’ve written about movies, that they’re too violent for kids.
But, violence in the media just rolls on. Horror movies are now being nominated for Academy Awards.
The media in America just keeps exploiting children, doing what maximizes profits rather than thinking of the harm it does to kids and teens.
A ruling by a California jury on Monday found Meta Platforms and Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, liable in a social media addiction lawsuit.
The case was brought by a young plaintiff who alleged that she had suffered serious mental health harms after becoming addicted to platforms operated by the companies.
The lawsuit the first of its kind to result in a verdict against major social media companies. It’s expected to shape thousands of related cases nationwide: more than 2,000 pending lawsuits allege that companies including Meta, Google, Snap Inc., and TikTok knowingly designed products that foster compulsive use among children and adolescents while exposing them to self-harm, exploitation, and mental health injury.
“The California jury has delivered a clear message – companies that knowingly design products that intensify addiction and contribute to serious harm will be held accountable by the American public,” J.B. Branch, AI governance and technology policy counsel at Public Citizen, an advocacy group, said in a statement.
Branch said the verdict is a watershed moment in the fight to hold social media companies accountable for building products they knew were addictive, manipulative, and harmful to children.
“For years, companies like Meta and Google told Congress, parents, and the public that they were committed to safety,” he said. “But internal evidence showed that engagement and profit were prioritized over the well-being of children.”
Social media firms have built massive business models around dependency. They’ve denied or minimized mounting evidence of harm, and resisted meaningful safeguards while millions of young people were exposed to escalating risks, the lawsuit alleged. Infinite scroll, push notifications, algorithmic amplification, and behavioral targeting were commercial design choices built to maximize attention, addiction, and revenue.
“This verdict is part of a broader public accountability reckoning that is beginning to confront the human costs of unrestrained digital product design,” Branch said. “Courts and juries across America are now doing what Congress has failed to do: forcing facts into public view and creating consequences when powerful companies refuse to act responsibly.”
We’ve been waiting decades for Congress and federal regulators to act. We need enforceable safeguards for youth online while preserving the right of states to adopt stronger standards.
Branch said what’s needed are stronger product safety requirements, transparency obligations, limits on manipulative design practices, and accountability mechanisms for platforms whose business models depend on prolonged youth engagement.
I agree. But Congress is mired in such disarray, I hope this and other lawsuit will result in social media policy and procedures that will protect our children.
