Parents of Big Tech social media victims after drug addiction verdict: ‘This is not over yet’

Strong families of social media victims celebrated the landmark ruling on Wednesday that ruled that Meta and Google designed their platforms to be addictive – but insisted that “the battle is not over.”

Parents who appeared to be empathetic stood together outside the court, displaying pictures of their sweet, fresh-faced children – some of whom died due to the poor conditions of the stadium and the lack of sidewalks to protect new users. The families were not part of the crime.

“This is not over — we know this is a long game,” said Juliana Arnold, mother of 17-year-old Coco, who died in 2022 of fentanyl poisoning after trying to buy Percocet on social media.

“We don’t want any more hearings. We don’t want any more loopholes in these bills. We don’t want lawmakers to protect Big Tech. We want them to do their job and keep American families safe.”

The families were there to represent a nationwide group of victims of social media, including sex-trafficking scams, dangerous viral “challenges,” and grooming. Most of the victims were between 12 and 15 years old.

“This is a victory, and we all feel vindicated,” said Victoria Hinks. “But it has to be combined with the law.”

Hinks’ beautiful 16-year-old daughter, Alexandra, known as Owl, killed herself in August 2024, after being fed a highly filtered diet of “beauty” that distorted her perception of reality.

“Platforms should have a duty of care,” Hinks said.

“They need transparency and reporting like every other industry. They will no longer deny that they know what they are doing. They will stop at nothing.”

The mother of a 15-year-old New York boy who shot himself after being targeted on Facebook for “sexual stalking” said she hopes every American who “gives their child a machine is paying attention.”

He also appealed to the president.

“I would really like Congress to act. I would really like the president not to appoint Zuckerberg to some technology committee,” Mary Rodee told the California Post.

President Trump on Wednesday tapped Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to serve on the White House’s Science and Technology panel, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).

Rodee’s son, Riley Basford, killed himself in 2021 as he was kidnapped by “your” photos he posted on social media, the family said.

Rodee offered her support to other grieving families.

“I really want to bring together parents of injured children and parents who are living with this now – to show that I wasn’t crazy for five years, that I knew they were doing this to my child, and they’re doing it to your child,” she said.

“And we shouldn’t take this for granted and we’re here for it,” he added.

Brave parents called out Big Tech for putting the blame on them.

“Stop blaming the parents. On you. And this is what you are showing today,” Hinks said with fierce determination.

A judge in Los Angeles found that Meta and Google – two of the most powerful technology companies in the world – are responsible for causing depression and anxiety to a young woman who became addicted to their platforms, Instagram and YouTube.

The tech giants were found liable for $3 million in damages. The jury also awarded $3 million in punitive damages.

Rodee believes the damage is “big enough” to prove to the average American that the “recklessness is obvious” – but he worried it wasn’t enough to force the social media giants “not enough to” control themselves.

“I want them to pay money that makes them feel like they have money to do better,” he told The Post.

“So I think it was down to that — that it wasn’t enough to get them to change their behavior.”

The attorney representing the plaintiff in the first case, known only by her first name, Kaley, called the decision a “historic moment” that will “repeat.”

“I’ll tell you this: If the jury had come back ‘no,’ champagne corks would have popped out of the houses of Google and Meta,” said Kaley’s attorney, Mark Lanier, a Texas trial attorney and part-time pastor.

Kaley – who is now 20 but started using social media when she was 6 – said the platforms were designed to engage children with features such as scrolling and auto-play.

He described how the apps’ notifications of new likes and comments gave him a “rush” he wanted to pursue further.

“I wanted to be in it all the time,” he told the judge, according to the Wall Street Journal. “If I wasn’t there, I felt like I would be missing something.”

Hinks blasted the tech giants as “predators.”

“We know now that they were exploiting our children for profit while we were trying to keep our families safe,” she said.

“They are predators. They don’t look away anymore.”

The high-profile ruling could now build on thousands of similar lawsuits filed by parents, counties, and school districts against big tech companies.

A Meta spokesperson said the company “respectfully opposes” the court’s decision and plans to appeal.

“The mental health of young people is very complex and cannot be attributed to a single action plan. We will continue to protect ourselves vigorously, as every situation is different,” said spokeswoman Ashley Nikkole Davis. “We remain confident in our record of protecting young people online.”

Google has also indicated that it will appeal.

“We disagree with the decision and plan to file an appeal. This case misunderstands YouTube, which is a well-established streaming platform, not a social media site,” Google spokesman José Castañeda said in a statement.