Explainer-What comes next after the social media trial verdicts?

By Diana Novak Jones

March 25 (Reuters)- – Recent jury verdicts in California and New Mexico involving Meta Platforms and Alphabet’s Google are sharpening scrutiny of social media companies as plaintiffs advance legal theories aimed at holding platforms liable for harm to children. Here’s a look at how the cases could be ‌an early test of how courts may handle similar claims going forward.

WHAT DID THE LOS ANGELES JURY FIND?

The jury ordered Meta and Google on Wednesday to ‌pay a combined $6 million in damages to plaintiff Kaley G.M., a 20-year-old who said she suffered from depression and suicidal thoughts after becoming addicted to the companies’ platforms at a young age because of their attention-grabbing design. ​The jury found that both Meta and Google were negligent in designing their platforms and failed to warn consumers about their risks.

WHAT HAPPENED IN NEW MEXICO?

Separately, a jury in New Mexico on Tuesday ordered Meta to pay $375 million after finding the company misled users about the safety of Facebook and Instagram while enabling child sexual exploitation on those platforms in a lawsuit brought by the state’s attorney general.

WHY ARE THESE TRIALS IMPORTANT?

The trials were the first to test whether Big Tech can be held liable for the design of apps blamed for harming young people’s wellbeing. Meta, Snapchat ‌and parent Snap Inc., Google’s YouTube, and TikTok and parent ByteDance ⁠are facing thousands of lawsuits in federal and state courts over claims they knowingly designed their platforms with features that addict children and teens, fueling a mental health crisis.

WHAT DOES THE VERDICT MEAN FOR OTHER LAWSUITS?

The Los Angeles trial is meant to serve as a bellwether, ⁠or test case, for the thousands of similar lawsuits consolidated in California state courts. Verdicts in bellwethers are often used by judges and attorneys to assess the potential value of remaining claims and guide settlement negotiations. Typically, multiple bellwethers will be tried before a broader settlement or resolution is reached.

WHAT OTHER KINDS OF LAWSUITS ARE PENDING?

Beyond the California state court cases, more than 2,400 lawsuits against Meta ​and ​other social media companies that make similar claims have been centralized in the California federal court. The ​federal litigation also includes lawsuits brought by state attorneys general alleging harm ‌to their states, as well as cases by school districts that say social media addiction has caused costly disruptions and problems.

While there can be some coordination between state and federal courts overseeing similar claims, verdicts in state court do not typically have a direct impact on the federal litigation.