header-logo header-logo

NLJ this week: Platforms on trial—can social media be a defective product?

04 July 2025
Issue: 8123 / Categories: Legal News , Technology , Social Media , Liability , Consumer , Personal injury
printer mail-detail
224731
Could social media platforms be treated as ‘products’ under the Consumer Protection Act 1987? If so, they could face strict liability for harms caused by addictive design features and algorithmic manipulation, says Harry Lambert of Outer Temple Chambers, writing in NLJ this week

Lambert argues that platforms are not mere conduits of ‘pure information’ but engineered environments with foreseeable risks—especially to children.

Drawing on case law, EU directives and the Online Safety Act 2023, he contends that social media’s design choices—like infinite scrolling or failure to remove harmful content—may breach duties in tort and contract. He highlights internal documents from US litigation showing tech firms knew of the risks but prioritised engagement.

With mounting evidence of harm and legal gaps, Lambert calls for courts to treat social media like any other potentially dangerous product—because the stakes, he warns, are nothing less than the mental health of a generation.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll