Meta lobbies Congress for protection from child-harm lawsuits

3 days ago by SocialistVibes01 to c/privacy

By Jody Godoy June 18 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms has lobbied the U.S.

Meta has lobbied the U.S. Congress for legal immunity from child-harm claims tied to social media products such as Instagram, as it faces thousands of lawsuits from young users and their families, according to a source familiar with the matter and proposed legislative language reviewed by Reuters. If adopted by lawmakers and passed into law as part of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) under consideration in the U.S. Senate, such a provision could undermine thousands of lawsuits against Meta and other online platforms over harms to children. Meta and Google's YouTube face a combined $6 million in damages after they lost the first case at trial early this year. While legislators have given no indication of adopting the language, the lobbying effort shows the kind of legal protections Meta is seeking amid the biggest attempt to regulate online platforms in the U.S. since the 1990s.

manxu 25 points 2 days ago

They must not get away with this. Thousands of lives ruined because of algorithms programmed to make you addicted, just so that their owners can make a pretty penny.

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Doomsider 12 points 2 days ago

They knew it was psychological manipulation. This is without a doubt a serious form of abuse by a trusted entity that holds a lot of power. Everyone who had engaged in creating addictive feedback loops and dark patterns should be removed from the market permanently.

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Thorned_Rose 4 points 2 days ago

Worse is that Meta is also pushing for OS age verification so they can fob off responsibility to users. They want both pieces of the pie - absolution of responsibility by foisting it on users and avoiding responsibility for any harms.

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SocialistVibes01 1 point 2 days ago
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FineCoatMummy 24 points 2 days ago

Meta and Google’s YouTube face a combined $6 million in damages

Meanwile, Google's market cap:

4.459 T USD

Google's 2025 revenue:

$402.8 billion

It will take Google nearly 8 entire minutes to make another $6m.

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mnemonicmonkeys 9 points 2 days ago

This just like how companies use Pinkertons to suppression unionization at double the cost it would be to just pay their employees a fair wage

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racoon 1 point a day ago

It’s not about the money. It is about sending a message

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