Tech companies have been telling parents for years that they are making efforts to make their products safer for children. However, ongoing jury trials, settlements, and related lawsuits involving companies such as Meta, Google, and Snap indicate that the public believes they are not doing enough.

The latest example occurred this week. Snap reached a confidential settlement in a lawsuit that claimed its technology caused severe psychological distress to two teenage users. Meta, TikTok, and YouTube had previously reached settlements with the plaintiff in the same lawsuit. Meanwhile, Google was also sued this week; the plaintiffs are the parents of a child who, they claim, experienced a psychological crisis after chatting with Gemini AI on Google Classroom.

As artificial intelligence companies pursue valuations in the tens of billions of dollars, established internet giants are also investing in the development of advanced AI models and bringing them into classrooms, and concerns in this regard are growing. Development psychologist Kate Blocker states that products and features designed to maximize user engagement may have adverse effects on users, and therefore "more widespread systematic changes to technological design are needed, especially when children use these products."

The head of research and projects at this non-profit organization, Blocker, said: "I believe that child safety should be taken into consideration from the very beginning when these products – AI, social media, and so on – are designed, rather than waiting until such issues arise. This is extremely important."

The head of emerging litigation at McNicholas & McNicholas, Joseph McNally, stated that the settlement of Snap this week has exempted CEO Evan Spiegel from testifying in a Los Angeles court, continuing the overall trend of tech companies attempting to avoid public scrutiny due to several high-profile child safety-related trials this year.

He stated that this case is just one of the social media personal injury trials related to Meta and YouTube losing this year. More trials are scheduled to begin in March.

McNally, who once served as the Acting United States Attorney for the Central District of California, said: "I believe that this settlement, as well as others in this field, is an attempt by tech companies to turn the page. This is not only because I think there are indeed legal challenges, but also because the reputation of their products and the companies themselves have been severely impacted."

Snap The spokesperson stated in the declaration: 'All parties are very pleased to be able to resolve this matter in a friendly manner.'

The spokesperson also said, "We have established security measures, launched security tutorials, and collaborated with experts; since security is an ongoing endeavor with no end in sight, we remain committed to continuously strengthening the security, privacy, and well-being of our community."

However, there is still a federal case involving Meta, TikTok, Snap, and YouTube, as well as numerous lawsuits from school districts across the country, and several lawsuits filed by state attorneys general. In August, Meta agreed to pay nearly $17 billion to reach a settlement with a group of state attorneys general in a child mental health case. Some attorneys general are still pursuing similar lawsuits against Meta's competitors.

McNally says that social media lawsuits have helped parents and the public understand how the industry designs products for teenagers and children to use.

He said, "This is a continuous technological arms race. What often lacks is a way to find a balance between participating in this arms race, the practicality of the products, and the security of those products."

More scrutiny in the classroom

Google This week, it has faced more criticism due to the rapid pace of implementation. The New York Times reported on Tuesday that K-12 schools that do not allow students to use Google AI tools will lose their search functionality. Google, the vice president of education, Chris Phillips, told the New York Times: "Search and AI are deeply integrated."

This news emerged alongside a new lawsuit targeting Google. The lawsuit revolves around a teenager who is said to have experienced a suicidal crisis, and whose parents attribute this to the company's Gemini AI. The plaintiff's lawyer stated, "Despite being aware of the risks associated with Gemini, Google still hastily integrated Gemini into computers designed for school-age children."

Google The spokesperson stated in the declaration: "We are reviewing the allegations in the lawsuit, and we take this very seriously. We have been working closely with medical professionals and academic experts to create features that can help young people find essential support and credible resources when they need them."

For decades, Google and its internet peers have been able to rely on Article 230.

Federal legislation passed in 1996 protects social media companies from being sued for content posted by their users. This is also why the attorneys for the plaintiffs and state attorneys general have been focusing on the so-called harm caused by the design of these tech platforms, rather than the content itself.

Some plaintiffs are also employing the same tactics against AI company. OpenAI is facing multiple lawsuits from the state attorney general and plaintiff's attorneys. Drawing on the approach used in social media litigation, they claim that the design of ChatGPT may pose a risk to children.

With the company's plans for the potential blockbuster IPO, these lawsuits may become an increasing financial risk. OpenAI Competitor Anthropic plans to go public this month, and the company has also emphasized this issue in its prospectus, despite the fact that Claude's developers prohibit children from using their product.

Professor at the University of San Francisco Law School, Michele Neitz, stated: “This clearly indicates that tech companies are facing more litigation risks than they did ten years ago.”

Blocker said that the highly personalized features of current AI chat applications make it "a bit unpredictable" to accurately determine what these applications might say to children. She emphasized that it is very important to conduct tests and evaluations on the safety of children's development for these products from the very beginning, "rather than waiting until harm has already occurred."

Blocker indicates that these class actions have helped the public understand the risks that poor product design choices can bring, and they may also become a catalyst for change in the tech industry.

She said, "Of course, we hope that this will drive real systemic change, whether from a regulatory perspective or from the perspective of internal corporate decision-making."

If you are having suicidal thoughts or are in a crisis, please call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline to connect with trained counselors for support and help.