The LA trial over whether social media companies should be liable for harms caused to children using their platforms is a “turning point” and the “world is finally paying attention”, a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said.
It comes after Harry and Meghan called for stronger protections for children online last year after unveiling a memorial in New York City to young people who lost their lives due to the harmful effects of social media.
And the Sussexes’ Archewell Foundation previously unveiled its Parents’ Network initiative as a support system for parents of children affected by online harm.
Now closing arguments have been heard at the Spring Street Courthouse in Los Angeles after about a month of hearing from therapists, addiction experts, platform engineers and executives, including Mark Zuckerberg in the trial.
The plaintiff is a 20-year-old woman and the two defendants are Meta and Google-owned YouTube. Snap and TikTok were also named defendants in the lawsuit, but each settled before the trial started.
A spokesperson for the Office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said: “We don’t yet know how the LA tech accountability trial will end. No matter the outcome, parents, advocates, and experts pushing for safer technology have already achieved something significant: the world is finally paying attention. Archewell Philanthropies is proud to have stood with and supported their stories.
“Today, the largest technology companies find themselves under unprecedented scrutiny. Their products, their design choices, and their impact on young people are being examined not just in public debate, but now in a court of law. And regardless of any single verdict, one truth is already clear: these companies are on trial in the court of history. This is the first case of its kind, but it will not be the last.
“For years, these companies resisted transparency and pointed to a supposed lack of ‘definitive proof’ whenever people raised alarms about harm. When whistleblowers raised alarms about internal practices, Meta leadership said the claims were ‘misleading’ and taken out of context. But the disclosures in this case have set the record straight.
“Internal emails, strategy decks, and research—documents the public was never meant to see—are now evidence. They reveal not only what these companies built, but what they knew.”
They added: “This trial is already a turning point: it has forced some of the most powerful companies on earth to reveal what’s behind the curtain and to answer, in public and on the record, for choices that shaped an entire generation’s daily life.”
