Meta在檢驗社群媒體是否導致憂鬱與飲食障礙主張的審判期間與青少年和解

Diana Novak Jones 報導By Diana Novak Jones

10月30日（路透社）——原告律師週五表示，Meta Platforms已與一名青少年原告達成和解；該原告指控Meta將Instagram和Facebook設計成會讓人上癮，導致她出現心理健康問題與飲食失調。Oct 30 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms has settled with a teen plaintiff who accused the company of designing Instagram and Facebook to be addictive, causing her mental health problems and disordered eating, attorneys for the plaintiff said on Friday.

這項和解是在週三開始遴選陪審團之後達成。原訂這場審判將檢驗兩名以S.J.與K.D.B.身分識別的青少年，對Meta及Snapchat母公司Snap Inc.提出的主張。Meta已在審判前數日與S.J.和解，因此週五與K.D.B.達成和解，意味著這場審判預計將只針對Snap進行。The settlement came after jury selection began on Wednesday for a trial that was slated to test the claims of two teens, identified as S.J. and K.D.B., against Meta and Snapchat parent Snap Inc. Meta had settled with S.J. days before the trial, so Friday's settlement with K.D.B. means the trial is expected to proceed against Snap only.

K.D.B.的律師Emily Jeffcott在聲明中表示：「我們仍致力於提升兒童使用社群媒體應用程式的安全，並要求科技公司負起責任。我們很高興已代表客戶讓此事獲得公正解決。」“We remain committed to improving safety for kids on social media apps and holding tech companies accountable, and we are pleased to have brought this matter to a just resolution on behalf of our client,” Emily Jeffcott, an attorney for K.D.B., said in a statement.

Meta發言人表示，和解、駁回與審判，都是檢驗此類案件過程的一部分。A spokesperson for Meta said settlements, dismissals and trials are part of the process of testing cases like this.

這名發言人說：「我們會繼續在法庭上為自己辯護，也堅持我們一貫的紀錄。」發言人並指出，Meta打造安全工具已超過10年。"We will continue to defend ourselves in court, and we stand by our record," the spokesperson said, noting that Meta has been building safety tools for more than a decade.

Snap發言人未立即回應媒體詢問。A spokesperson for Snap did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

這是洛杉磯州法院審理的第二起相關審判，涉及年輕人提出的主張；他們表示，Meta、Snap、TikTok與Alphabet旗下YouTube將平台設計成鼓勵強迫性使用後，自己因此對社群媒體成癮。The trial is the second in Los Angeles state court over claims brought by young people who say they became addicted to social media after Meta, Snap, TikTok and Alphabet's YouTube designed their platforms to encourage compulsive use.

S.J.與K.D.B.先前已與TikTok和YouTube和解。S.J. and K.D.B. had previously settled with TikTok and YouTube.

這起案件是從數千件待審訴訟中選出的指標案件，因此陪審團的裁決可能影響企業與原告如何解決類似案件。The case was selected among the thousands of pending lawsuits as a test case, so the jury's verdict could influence how the companies and plaintiffs resolve similar cases.

S.J.是一名來自伊利諾州的16歲少女，K.D.B.則是來自密西西比州的18歲青少年。他們表示，自己早在3歲就開始使用YouTube，約9歲開始使用其他平台，並形成強迫性習慣；他們將此歸咎於自動播放、無限捲動等功能。S.J., a 16-year-old girl from Illinois, and K.D.B., an 18-year-old from Mississippi, say they began using YouTube as early as age 3 and the other platforms around age 9, developing compulsive habits they blame on features such as autoplay and infinite scroll.

這些公司已否認其平台是為了讓年輕人成癮而設計的說法，並表示已採取行動，使這些應用程式成為年輕人能安全表達自己的地方。The companies have rejected claims their platforms were designed to addict young people, and say they have taken action to make the apps safe places for young people to express themselves.

社群媒體公司在聯邦與州法院面臨個人、學區、市政機關及其他政府實體提出的數千件訴訟。這些訴訟指控，社群媒體公司明知卻仍試圖讓兒童對其平台成癮，助長了涉及焦慮、憂鬱與自殺的青少年心理健康危機。Social media companies face thousands of lawsuits in federal and state courts by individuals, school districts, municipalities and other government entities alleging the companies knowingly sought to addict children to their platforms, contributing to a youth mental health crisis involving anxiety, depression and suicide.

在第一起進入審判、並於3月結束的案件中，洛杉磯陪審團認定Meta與YouTube存在疏失，判給一名年輕女子600萬美元賠償金。In the first case to go to trial, which ended in March, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube had been negligent and awarded a young woman $6 million in damages.

接下來被選為審判案件的另外兩名青少年，不是與這些公司和解，就是撤回對這些公司的主張。The next two teens whose cases were selected for trials either settled or dropped their claims against the companies.

第一個被選為審判案件的學區，已與所有公司和解。The first school district chosen for trial settled with all of the companies.

8月，Meta與幾乎所有州及美國領地達成最高價值180億美元的和解，以解決各州檢察長就其平台對青少年造成傷害所提起的訴訟；Meta並同意調整Instagram與Facebook針對青少年的運作方式。In August, Meta struck settlements worth up to $18 billion with nearly every state and US territory to resolve lawsuits brought by attorneys general over the platforms’ harm to teens and agreed to make changes to how Instagram and Facebook work for teens.

本月稍早，紐墨西哥州一名法官在陪審團認定Meta就Facebook用戶資料隱私及其處理仇恨言論的方式誤導用戶後，命令Meta支付250億美元罰款。該公司已表示將上訴。Earlier this month, a New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay a $25 billion penalty after a jury found the company misled Facebook users about the privacy of their data and how it handles hate speech. The company has said it will appeal.

（Diana Novak Jones報導，Alexia Garamfalvi與Matthew Lewis編輯）(Reporting by Diana Novak Jones, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Matthew Lewis)