{"id":10003,"date":"2026-11-05T06:42:49","date_gmt":"2026-11-05T06:42:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=10003"},"modified":"2026-11-05T06:42:49","modified_gmt":"2026-11-05T06:42:49","slug":"wired-world-fair-2026-mark-lanier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=10003","title":{"rendered":"The Lawyer Holding Big Tech Accountable by \u2018Beating the Tar Out of Them\u2019 in Court"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span class=\"body lead-in-text\">As social media<\/span> giants face allegations that they <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/meta-will-pay-up-to-dollar167-billion-to-settle-its-social-media-harms-case-and-thats-just-for-starters\/\" class=\"text link\">fail to protect users<\/a>, attorney Mark Lanier is grappling with the question: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/how-many-billions-would-it-take-to-hold-meta-accountable\/\" class=\"text link\">What would it actually take to hold companies accountable?<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">&#8220;I think it just takes beating the tar out of them,&#8221; Lanier told WIRED senior correspondent Lauren Goode at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/tag\/wired-world-fair-2026\/\" class=\"text link\">WIRED World Fair<\/a> on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/how-many-billions-would-it-take-to-hold-meta-accountable\/\" class=\"text link\">$6 million in damages<\/a>\u2014a symbolic victory but a rounding error in terms of the tech giants\u2019 bottom lines.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">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\u2014including Arkansas, where Lanier\u2019s firm served as outside counsel\u2014accused Meta of failing to protect young social media users.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">A few days into the trial, Meta <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/meta-will-pay-up-to-dollar167-billion-to-settle-its-social-media-harms-case-and-thats-just-for-starters\/\" class=\"text link\">agreed to a settlement of up to $16.7 billion<\/a>, to be paid out to 51 US states and territories. The social media giant also pledged to make <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/the-meta-settlement-will-put-limits-on-instagram-for-teens-theyre-still-vulnerable\/\" class=\"text link\">changes on how teenagers use Instagram and Facebook<\/a>, such as a default two-hour time limit. (TikTok agreed to similar limits as part of a <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/tiktok-settlement-alabama-mental-health-94355989f076a363c6df8452b82bfbd5\" class=\"text link\">settlement in Alabama in September<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">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\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/meta-layoffs-bad-vibes-mark-zuckerberg-ai\/\" class=\"text link\">and companies\u2019 own employees<\/a>\u2014feel about the platforms. Lanier said that, in addition to wins in court, change can come from people understanding companies\u2019 actions and demanding accountability.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">\u201cI am not here because I&#8217;m bored on a Wednesday,\u201d Lanier said from the WIRED World Fair stage. \u201cI&#8217;m here because I want everybody to know what these companies do\u2014because that type of pressure will help change everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/wired-world-fair-2026-mark-lanier\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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? &#8220;I think it just takes beating the tar out of them,&#8221; Lanier told WIRED senior correspondent Lauren Goode at the WIRED World Fair on Wednesday. Lanier [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10004,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[194,70,204,1615],"class_list":["post-10003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-gadgets","tag-lawsuits","tag-meta","tag-social-media","tag-wired-world-fair-2026"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Lawyer Holding Big Tech Accountable by \u2018Beating the Tar Out of Them\u2019 in Court - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mark Lanier led the first social media addiction case to go to trial, winning a verdict against Meta and Google in March. 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