Responding to a US jury finding that Meta and YouTube were liable for designing platforms that are harmful to children and young people, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International’s Senior Director of Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns, said:
“This damning verdict is a landmark moment in recognizing the harm caused by tech giants in the manipulative designs of their social media platforms. For years, social media companies including Meta and YouTube have profited from targeting children and young people with addictive design features that prioritize engagement over wellbeing. They have deliberately built into their platforms features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, and persistent notifications that are engineered to ‘hook’ young users into compulsive use.
“The toxic impact of these unsafe design features was laid bare during the trial when 20-year-old KGM told the court in Los Angeles how she began using YouTube at just six and Instagram at nine. She described being online ‘all day long’ as a child. Over time, her compulsive use of these social media platforms intensified, leaving her struggling with addiction and deepening depression.
“This court decision is clear: these platforms are unsafe by design and meaningful change is urgently needed.
Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International’s Senior Director of Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns
“Rather than using blunt tools like banning young teens from social media, states must require a fundamental overhaul of how these platforms operate, including addressing their addictive design. This is the only path to a truly safe social media.”
Background
Delivering the landmark judgement in KGM’s case, jurors said Meta and YouTube were negligent and ordered them to pay $6 million in damages. Meta and Google have both both stated separately that they disagree with the verdict and will appeal.
Snap, the owner of Snapchat and TikTok were initially part of the case, but both companies reached a settlement before trial.
The ruling could influence a raft of other cases accusing social media companies of causing children and young people harm.
In a separate case in New Mexico, a jury also found Meta liable for harms to the mental health and safety of children in the state and ordered it to pay a hefty fine though Meta has indicated that it will appeal the decision.
