Two verdicts in two days: How American courts are rewriting the rules for Big Tech and children

# Summary Within 48 hours in March 2026, two jury verdicts significantly challenged social media platforms' practices affecting children. On March 24, a Santa Fe jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million for violating New Mexico's consumer protection laws; the following day, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and Google's YouTube negligent in platform design, awarding nearly $6 million to a single plaintiff. However, Carolina Rossini, a Professor of Practice and Director for Program, Public Interest Technology Initiative at UMass Amherst, argues the financial penalties—which represent less than 2% of Meta's 2025 net income—constitute "licensing fees" rather than genuine accountability without structural changes to products. Both companies have signaled they will appeal, with First Amendment challenges expected to be central to their defense.