As social media giants face allegations that they fail to protect users, attorney Mark Lanier is grappling with the question: What would it actually take to hold companies accountable?
"I think it just takes beating the tar out of them," Lanier told WIRED senior correspondent Lauren Goode at the WIRED World Fair on Wednesday.
Lanier was the lead attorney in the first social media addiction case to go to trial, which resulted in a verdict against Meta and Google in March. The plaintiff was awarded $6 million in damages—a symbolic victory, but a rounding error in terms of the tech giants’ bottom lines.
Lanier said lawsuits in which attorneys general represent their states have the potential to orchestrate significant change, alongside greater financial repercussions. In a case that went to trial in August, attorneys general across several states—including Arkansas, where Lanier’s firm served as outside counsel—accused Meta of failing to protect young social media users.
A few days into the trial, Meta agreed to a settlement of up to $16.7 billion, to be paid out to 51 US states and territories. The social-media giant also pledged to make changes on how teenagers use Instagram and Facebook, such as a default two-hour time limit. (TikTok agreed to similar limits as part of a settlement in Alabama in September.)
A $1.7 trillion-dollar company like Meta can treat such settlements and verdicts as the cost of doing business, even if the costs climb into the billions. But these cases also have more nebulous repercussions. They impact how the public—and companies’ own employees—feel about the platforms. Lanier said that, in addition to wins in court, change can come from people understanding companies’ actions and demanding accountability.
“I am not here because I'm bored on a Wednesday,” Lanier said from the WIRED World Fair stage. “I'm here because I want everybody to know what these companies do—because that type of pressure will help change everything.”