Meta attorney says social media verdicts 'vulnerable on appeal'
Meta Chief Legal Officer C.J. Mahoney joins Kayleigh McEnany for exclusive reaction to jury verdicts holding the company liable for child safety issues and social media addiction. The full interview airs Saturday at 10 a.m. ET.
A top Meta lawyer says the company will "aggressively" pursue appeals after two juries found it liable for hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.
Juries in California and New Mexico recently found Meta liable for designing addictive platforms and violating consumer protection laws. Meta plans to appeal the rulings.
"We disagree with these verdicts, respectfully," C.J. Mahoney, Meta's chief legal officer, said on "Saturday in America."
"We think that they're vulnerable on appeal, and we're going to pursue those appeals aggressively," he added.
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Family members of victims spoke to reporters outside Los Angeles Superior Court on March 25 in Los Angeles after a jury found Meta and YouTube negligent in a lawsuit alleging their platforms contributed to harmful behaviors among young users. (Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
On Wednesday, a Los Angeles jury found both Meta and Google liable for designing their products to make young people addicted. Jurors awarded the plaintiff $6 million after a nine-day trial. The plaintiff, known as KGM, testified that she became addicted to social media as a child and that it worsened her mental health struggles.
Mahoney said Meta should not be blamed for the youth mental health crisis.
"We do not believe that our platform is responsible for the teen mental health crisis in this country," he said.
"It's not [going to] be the payday that the plaintiff's lawyers would like it to be," Mahoney added.
Plaintiffs’ attorney Mark Lanier spoke with reporters outside Los Angeles Superior Court on March 25 in Los Angeles after a jury found Meta and YouTube negligent in a lawsuit alleging their platforms contributed to harmful behaviors among young users. (Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Instead, he argued that both parents and schools should take responsibility for children’s social media use and that blaming tech companies oversimplifies the situation.
"Trying to pin all of this on one social media company or even the tech industry, I think, simplifies the problem in a way that isn't helpful," he added.
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Mark Lanier, the plaintiff’s lead attorney, called the verdict a major victory.
"The simple truth of the matter is, if we don't hold these companies accountable for purposefully addicting children to their platforms to enrich their coffers, nobody will," he said Friday on "Fox & Friends."
Families and supporters reacted outside Los Angeles Superior Court on March 25 in Los Angeles after a jury found Meta and YouTube negligent in a lawsuit alleging their platforms contributed to harmful behaviors among young users. (Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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Lanier noted that while it’s fine for social media companies to want to grow their user base, it cannot come at the "expense of our children."
The California verdict came only days after a jury in New Mexico also found Meta liable for harming children’s mental health and jeopardizing their safety. Meta must pay $375 million in damages.
Platforms TikTok and Snap had been defendants in the California trial but settled before the case went to a jury.
The full interview with Meta Chief Legal Officer C.J. Mahoney will air on "Saturday in America" at 10 a.m. ET.
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