Linus Tech Tips Discussion

 Meta ordered to pay $375M for misrepresenting children's safety, Meta & Youtube found liable for social media addiction Summary On 24th of March Meta was found to have breached New Mexico's consumer protection laws regarding misleading claims Meta made about the safety of children on their platforms. Meta has been ordered to pay $375 million dollars to the state of New Mexico, the maximum penalty of $5000 per breach (75,000).   On the following day in a separate case in California involving Meta and Youtube the social media giants have been found liable for causing social media addiction. A jury determined that Meta and Youtube intentionally created addictive social media platforms which harmed the mental health of the 20 year old plaintiff. The court has ordered $6 million dollars to be paid with Meta found 70% liable and ordered to pay $4.2M with Youtube found 30% liable and ordered to pay $1.8M.      New Mexico Lawsuit, Violating Consumer Protection laws regarding child safety Quote New Mexico jurors sided with state prosecutors who argued that Meta — which owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp — prioritized profits over safety, and violated parts of the state's Unfair Practices Act. The jury agreed with allegations that Meta made false or misleading statements and also agreed that Meta engaged in "unconscionable" trade practices that unfairly took advantage of the vulnerabilities of and inexperience of children. The social media conglomerate won't be forced to change its practices right away. It will be up to a judge — not a jury — to determine whether Meta's social media platforms created a public nuisance and whether the company should pay for public programs to address the harms. That second phase of the trial will happen in May.   In reaching a verdict, the jury considered whether social media users were misled by specific statements about platform safety by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Instagram head Adam Mosseri and Meta global head of safety Antigone Davis. They also considered Meta's failure to enforce its ban on users under 13, the role of its algorithms in prioritizing sensational or harmful content, and the prevalence of social media content about teen suicide. Source: https://www.npr.org/2026/03/24/g-s1-115019/new-mexico-meta-children-mental-health   Quote A New Mexico jury on Tuesday found Meta Platforms (META.O) violated state law in a lawsuit brought by the state attorney general, who accused the company of misleading users about the safety of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp and of enabling child sexual exploitation on those platforms.   After deliberating less than a day, the jury found that Meta violated New Mex