AG Rokita sues online platforms used by Hailey Buzbee and suspect in her death
The lawsuit accuses the companies of violating the Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act and failing to employ sufficient protections against online predators.
Social Media
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Web Exclusive: Governments, politicians face 1st Amendment suits over social media use
Kingsford Heights, Indiana, has something in common with a growing number of smaller communities: Its town council is facing a lawsuit for allegedly violating the First Amendment rights of its residents — not at the ballot box or in a church, but on Facebook.
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‘Ordered freedom’: AG Rokita sets agenda focused on ‘liberty’
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita recently sat down with Indiana Lawyer to answer questions about his first 100 days in office and his agenda for the next four years.
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Web Exclusive: Supreme Court in no hurry to find new attorney ethics director
With the search underway for only the third director of the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission, one thing seems certain: The court will take its time finding a successor for retired leader G. Michael Witte.
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Web Exclusive: Legal clinic offers education series through Facebook
When in-person legal education events became virtually impossible during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic chose to go virtual.
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Articles
Monroe County resident sues Indiana AG investigator for threatening prosecution over political Facebook posts
The lawsuit was filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana on behalf of plaintiff Lee Lawmaster, who said the investigator threatened to pursue legal action against him over certain Facebook posts.
Verdicts against Meta, YouTube reshape legal protections for Big Tech
There are thousands more cases waiting to be heard, with young internet users, parents, school districts and state attorneys general all seeking compensation and changes to how social media services operate.
Jury finds Instagram and YouTube liable in landmark social media addiction trial
The multimillion-dollar verdict will grow, as the jury decided the companies acted with malice, or highly egregious conduct, meaning they will hear new evidence shortly and head back into the deliberation room to decide on punitive damages.
Jury begins deliberations in landmark trial over children’s safety risks on Meta
Jurors heard closing arguments after six weeks of testimony from scores of witnesses that included local teachers, psychiatric experts, investigators, top Meta officials and whistleblowers.
Jurors wade through daunting evidence in high-stakes Meta trial about social media risks to children
A daunting stream of testimony and evidence has been presented over seven weeks in a New Mexico case that explores what social media conglomerate Meta knew about the effects of its platforms on children.
Lawyers in landmark social media addiction trial make final appeals to jury
The case, along with two others, has been selected as a bellwether trial, meaning its outcome could impact how thousands of similar lawsuits against social media companies are likely to play out.
Indiana schools join federal litigation against social media developers, claiming they cause youth addictions
More than 100 Indiana school districts are suing social media developers Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and Google for designing products that allegedly lead to addictive and harmful behavior by adolescents.
Elon Musk defends tweets in lawsuit alleging they caused Twitter stock to fall before acquisition
Taking the stand for the second day, Musk continued to double down on his assertion that Twitter had a much higher number of fake and spam accounts than the 5% it disclosed in regulatory filings.
DHS’s use of secretive legal weapon draws congressional scrutiny
The probe comes after The Washington Post investigated Homeland Security’s use of administrative subpoenas, a powerful but little-known legal instrument that federal agencies can issue without an order from a judge or grand jury.
Elon Musk to take stand in Twitter shareholder trial accusing him of deflating stock before purchase
The stock closed at $36.81 on July 8, 2022, when Musk tweeted he was abandoning the deal over the fake accounts issue. That’s 32% below Musk’s offer price of $54.20 per share.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg quizzed on kids’ Instagram use in social media trial
Zuckerberg’s testimony is part of an unprecedented social media trial that questions whether Meta’s platforms deliberately addict and harm children.
Indiana House panel advances school cellphone crackdown, revised youth social media bills
Both measures now head to the full House after getting reworks in the Education Committee.
Google, Meta, push back on addiction claims in landmark social media trial
Jurors in a landmark social media case that seeks to hold tech companies responsible for harms to children got their first glimpse into what will be a lengthy trial characterized by dueling narratives from the plaintiffs and the two remaining defendants, Meta and YouTube.
‘Losing the fight’: Parents urge action as Indiana House revisits youth social media restrictions
After hours of emotional testimony from frustrated parents and school leaders, an Indiana House committee is weighing whether to revive youth social media restrictions inside a wide-ranging education agency bill.
Social networks face Big Tobacco moment over addiction cases
But if they lose, social media companies will face pressure to change the way minors interact with social media and to reach settlements that could total billions – a scenario that could be akin to the deals that tarnished the tobacco and opioid industries.
Lawsuit claims WhatsApp has a gaping security hole. Experts doubt it.
The suit cited unidentified whistleblowers who the lawsuit claims have discovered that WhatsApp staff could send an electronic request to the company’s engineers asking for messages from a specific user ID.
Lawmakers back away from a youth social media ban
Bills on township government, hemp and utility costs also pass General Assembly.
TikTok settles as social media giants face landmark trial over youth addiction claims
The social video platform was one of three companies — along with Meta’s Instagram and Google’s YouTube — facing claims that their platforms deliberately addict and harm children.
Parents say teens are addicted to social media. Now, a jury will decide.
The trial will put the spotlight on an emerging debate within the mental health field about the connection between social media and climbing teen rates of depression, anxiety and suicide ideation.