One month ago, the state of New Mexico found Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, liable for failing to protect youth from harmful content on its platforms, resulting in a $375 million fine. “They had been lying to the American people, and they have been lying to leaders in public office and in policy spaces for years and years,” said New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez during the trial. Now, law firms are preparing to take action, with the Branch Law Firm in Albuquerque launching advertisements aimed at families who have been harmed by social media. The ads highlight issues such as mental illness, sexual exploitation, and even suicide. KOAT legal expert John Day said the advertisements are likely part of an effort to initiate a class action lawsuit. “I think it’s a cause-and-effect thing. I mean, when you see these big jury verdicts coming in, the one in California, the one here in New Mexico, it’s assigned to lawyers around the country that this might be what they call low-hanging fruit,” Day said. While Meta was not specifically named in the ad, Day noted that the timing aligns with the company’s recent guilty verdict. “You’ve got lawyers around the country who are trying to gather people together who have been harmed by the social media platforms, they say. Including the families of people who committed suicide that can attribute to social media. So remains to be seen how effective it’s gonna be, but not surprising that we’re seeing a lot of this happening now,” Day said. Day also said these types of cases often take years to resolve, but predicted that more lawsuits targeting social media platforms are likely to emerge. “This is just the starting point, but I think you’re going to see more and more, probably, you’re going to see more jury verdicts like the ones we saw in California and New Mexico as the social media platforms become targets for this kind of litigation,” Day said. In May, a judge will determine what actions Meta must take to address the issues identified in last month’s verdict. The Branch Law Firm expressed interest in discussing the lawsuit but was unavailable for comment.
One month ago, the state of New Mexico found Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, liable for failing to protect youth from harmful content on its platforms, resulting in a $375 million fine.
“They had been lying to the American people, and they have been lying to leaders in public office and in policy spaces for years and years,” said New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez during the trial.
Now, law firms are preparing to take action, with the Branch Law Firm in Albuquerque launching advertisements aimed at families who have been harmed by social media. The ads highlight issues such as mental illness, sexual exploitation, and even suicide.
KOAT legal expert John Day said the advertisements are likely part of an effort to initiate a class action lawsuit.
“I think it’s a cause-and-effect thing. I mean, when you see these big jury verdicts coming in, the one in California, the one here in New Mexico, it’s assigned to lawyers around the country that this might be what they call low-hanging fruit,” Day said.
While Meta was not specifically named in the ad, Day noted that the timing aligns with the company’s recent guilty verdict.
“You’ve got lawyers around the country who are trying to gather people together who have been harmed by the social media platforms, they say. Including the families of people who committed suicide that can attribute to social media. So remains to be seen how effective it’s gonna be, but not surprising that we’re seeing a lot of this happening now,” Day said.
Day also said these types of cases often take years to resolve, but predicted that more lawsuits targeting social media platforms are likely to emerge.
“This is just the starting point, but I think you’re going to see more and more, probably, you’re going to see more jury verdicts like the ones we saw in California and New Mexico as the social media platforms become targets for this kind of litigation,” Day said.
In May, a judge will determine what actions Meta must take to address the issues identified in last month’s verdict. The Branch Law Firm expressed interest in discussing the lawsuit but was unavailable for comment.
