BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – A California woman wins 6 million dollars in a lawsuit aimed at Meta and Google. It\u2019s a landmark case, potentially setting a precedent that many technology companies vehemently disagree with. <\/p>\n
At UVM, most students don\u2019t remember a time before social media. It was an integral part of the way they grew up. They\u2019re the main demographic in lawsuits across the country that allege social media companies of creating an addictive design that harms youth. In California, a jury found, for the first time, that these social media companies are responsible for the harm they caused to youth. The ripple effects remain to be seen.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter using it for long periods of time, just scrolling… I\u2019m like, wow. I really wish I could\u2019ve been doing something else with my time,\u201d said UVM Sophomore Sarah Ewell.<\/p>\n
We all feel like Ewell sometimes, stuck on our devices in a whirlwind of media. We\u2019re like Homer\u2019s lotus eaters, but instead of fruit, we\u2019re consuming what\u2019s been famed as \u201cthe infinite scroll.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are designed algorithmically with mathematical precision to not just tailor the content you consume to who you are, but tailor it in a way that they allege evokes certain emotions, certain extreme emotions,\u201d said St. Michael\u2019s Digital Media Professor Sebastiaan Gorissen.<\/p>\n
Gorissen says these extreme emotions go hand in hand with harmful content that could cause addictions, leading to or exacerbating mental illness. It\u2019s the exact argument that convinced a jury in California that Meta and YouTube acted with malice when they made their engagement design. <\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially with the way the algorithm is so responsive to what you want and is constantly listening to you, I think that\u2019s not safe, especially for people who are underage and easily manipulated,\u201d said UVM Sophomore Oakley Waters.<\/p>\n
Meta says they will appeal the decision. Social media companies have long been protected by a piece of federal law called \u201cSection 230\u201d, which gives platforms immunity for the consequences of the content posted on their sites. This is the first time that legal shield has been punctured. Proving software design and the content it conjures as the direct cause of someone\u2019s mental health struggles is not easy. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn the eyes of the law, correlation and causation are not the same thing, and causation will be incredibly difficult to prove in the court of law,\u201d said Gorrisen.<\/p>\n
Vermont is part of a nationwide lawsuit against meta looking to award damages to the affected and end the addictiveness. It remains unclear if that case will be won with this precedent, or if social media companies will change their design. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a little bit of some of the responsibility on the users and the consumers to be able to regulate themselves,\u201d said UVM Environmental Science Major Sumi Farrell.<\/p>\n
Gorrisen believes that, in the end, cases like this may be adjudicated by the Supreme Court. Those nine may decide the fate of our digital futures. <\/p>\n
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