The Meta settlement indicates civil claims are more effective than regulation when it comes to forcing tech giants to change, according to online safety lawyer Mark Jones
Meta agreed to pay up to $17.1bn (£13.3bn) last week to settle claims brought by 29 US states that Facebook and Instagram failed to protect children using their platforms. But could similar cases arise here?
Jones, partner at Payne Hicks Beach, said: ‘In the UK, families and individuals have compelling evidence that their children suffered serious harm, sometimes with fatal consequences, yet we do not see the same type of large civil claims here.
‘Ofcom can investigate and issue fines to the platforms, but that is not the same as securing justice or compensation for those families. The recent cases in the US against tech companies for online harms, appear to signal that it is civil claims that affect change more than regulation.’
