Meta vows to ‘aggressively’ appeal verdicts over addictive platforms
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A senior Meta lawyer said the company will “aggressively” pursue its appeal after two juries found the company liable for hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.
Juries in California and New Mexico recently found Meta liable for designing addictive platforms and violating consumer protection laws. Meta plans to appeal the decisions.
“We respectfully disagree with these decisions,” CJ Mahoney, Meta’s chief legal officer, said on “Saturday in America.”
“We think they are vulnerable to appeal and we will aggressively pursue those appeals,” he added.
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Family members of the victims spoke to reporters outside Los Angeles Superior Court in Los Angeles on March 25 after a jury found Meta and YouTube were negligent in a lawsuit alleging their platforms contributed to harmful behavior among young users. (Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
On Wednesday, a Los Angeles jury found both Meta and Google liable for designing their products to addict young people. Jurors awarded the plaintiff $6 million after a nine-day trial. The plaintiff, known as KGM, testified that he was addicted to social media as a child, which worsened his mental health problems.
Mahoney said Meta should not be blamed for the youth mental health crisis.
“We do not believe our platform is responsible for the mental health crisis of young people in this country,” he said.
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“It’s not like that [going to] “Let the plaintiff’s lawyers want the payday,” Mahoney said.
Plaintiffs’ attorney Mark Lanier spoke to reporters outside Los Angeles Superior Court in Los Angeles on March 25 after a jury found Meta and YouTube were negligent in a lawsuit alleging their platforms contributed to harmful behavior among young users. (Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Instead, he argued that both parents and schools need to take responsibility for children’s social media use, and that blaming tech companies oversimplifies the situation.
“Trying to pin all of this on one social media company or even the tech industry, I think, will oversimplify the problem and not be very helpful,” he added.
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Mark Lanier, the plaintiff’s lead attorney, called the decision a major victory.
“The simple fact of the matter is, if we don’t hold these companies accountable for deliberately getting kids addicted to their platforms to enrich their coffers, no one will,” he said Friday on “Fox & Friends.”
Families and supporters reacted March 25 before Los Angeles Superior Court in Los Angeles after a jury found Meta and YouTube were negligent in a lawsuit that alleged their platforms contributed to harmful behavior among young users. (Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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Lanier said it’s okay for social media companies to want to grow their user bases, but that can’t be “at the expense of our children.”
The California decision came just days after a hearing. jury in new mexico it also found Meta responsible for harming children’s mental health and endangering their safety. Meta must pay compensation of $375 million.
Platforms TikTok and Snap were defendants in the California case, but the case was settled before going to a jury.
The full interview with Meta Chief Legal Officer CJ Mahoney will air on “Saturday on America” at 10 a.m. ET.
