Meta and google may have been found liable in Los Angeles and New Mexico for causing harm and failing to protect young people [subject to appeal, of course], but social media platforms seem to have found a way to ensure this doesn't happen elsewhere in the US: vast amounts of cash!
meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube settled a suit brought by the Kentucky schools district over social media addiction for a total of $27m - eight percent more than the school district's total annual budget. Even if such payments were extrapolated across all 1,300 districts bringing suits against big tech, this would amount to $35 billion. If Meta were liable for a third of that sum [as it was in the Kentucky case, this would equate to roughly one month of the company's operating income. It's easy to buy immunity with infinitely deep pockets.
Private Eye No.1677, June 2026.
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