The Terrible Cost of the Infinite Scroll; The New York Times, March 26, 2026

 Julia Angwin , The New York Times; The Terrible Cost of the Infinite Scroll

"It finally happened: Social media companies have been held accountable for the toxicity of their algorithmic grip.

In a first ruling of its kind, a California Superior Court jury found Wednesday that Meta and YouTube harmed a user through their addictive design choices.

The consequences for the industry could be significant. This case is only one of thousands set to be litigated across the country, and courts are seeking to consolidate them. This could wind up with a single significant settlement similar to the agreement that the four largest cigarette makers made in 1998 to resolve lawsuits for an estimated $206 billion as part of a master agreement with 46 states.

Compensating people for the harm caused by their products is just the silver lining. The real win would be if the social media giants were finally forced to design less harmful products."

Pennsylvania High Court Decision Regarding Data Breach Increases Litigation Risk for Companies Storing Personal Data; Lexology, January 8, 2019

Ropes & Gray LLP , Lexology; Pennsylvania High Court Decision Regarding Data Breach Increases Litigation Risk for Companies Storing Personal Data

"This decision could precipitate increased data breach class action litigation against companies that retain personal data. No state Supreme Court had previously recognized the existence of a negligence-based duty to safeguard personal information, other than in the narrow context of health care patient information."

Facebook Privacy Scandal Unleashes Nationwide ‘Litigation Swarm'; Bloomberg, April 4, 2018

Christie Smythe, Bloomberg; Facebook Privacy Scandal Unleashes Nationwide ‘Litigation Swarm'

"Litigation Swarm

"Facebook’s having to fight on multiple fronts, with potentially conflicting strategies and obligations, is what will make this ‘litigation swarm’ problematic," said Marc Melzer, a New York-based attorney. The company will likely "want to move slowly and withhold as much as they can without antagonizing regulators or the courts that are presiding over the suits."

Users and investors have filed at least 18 lawsuits since last month’s revelations about Cambridge Analytica. Beyond privacy violations, they are accusing Facebook of user agreement breaches, negligence, consumer fraud, unfair competition, securities fraud and racketeering.

Zuckerberg, Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, and board members including Marc Andreessen and Peter Thiel face additional claims from shareholders for allegedly failing to uphold their fiduciary duties and wasting corporate assets."