In March 2026, juries in two separate trials delivered historic verdicts against social media companies for failing to protect children.
On March 24, a New Mexico jury found Meta liable for violating the state’s consumer protection laws by concealing what it knew about child sexual exploitation on Facebook and Instagram, ordering the company to pay $375 million in civil penalties. The following day, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube negligent for designing platforms that harmed a young woman who became addicted to social media as a child, awarding $3 million in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages.
These verdicts mark the first time juries have held major tech companies financially accountable for the harms their platforms inflict on children. Together, they establish that platforms like Roblox which prioritize engagement and profits over child safety can and will be held liable. As juries across the country send a clear message that accountability has arrived for Big Tech, the case against Roblox only grows stronger.
Along with her co-lead counsel in the In Re: Roblox Corporation Child Sexual Exploitation and Assault Litigation, Girard Sharp’s Sarah London released the following statement:
“These back-to-back verdicts are only the beginning for platform accountability. For too long, Big Tech companies like Meta and Roblox have intentionally designed their platforms to prioritize growth and engagement over the safety of their youngest users. Children have suffered the most from this irresponsible approach, with thousands of kids groomed and exploited online by predators who are given direct access to them through these platforms. Lawsuits like this one and the pending Roblox litigation are what it takes to force these companies to stop facilitating the exploitation of the most vulnerable members of our society.”