Dive Brief:
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Families of mass shooting victims killed in May 2022 at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, are suing Instagram's parent company over claims it facilitated advertising for the manufacturer of the assault rifle used that day.
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The lawsuit, filed Friday on the two-year anniversary of the massacre, said teenagers are Instagram's most valuable user demographic and boost its advertising business — and that Instagram remains "the firearm industry's best advertiser." The wrongful death lawsuit against social media giant Meta also names Activision Blizzard, the company behind the popular “Call of Duty” video game franchise.
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The plaintiffs filed a second lawsuit Friday against Daniel Defense, manufacturer of the AR-15 style assault rifle used in the Uvalde massacre, alleging the company has "perfected the art of indoctrinating a particular demographic: adolescents who are vulnerable to marketing that stokes their sense of aggrievement and desire for power."
Dive Insight:
The lawsuits against Meta, Activision Blizzard and Daniel Defense are among the latest filed in the wake of the May 2022 massacre that killed 19 children and two teachers.
They came after Uvalde families last week settled with the city for $2 million and announced lawsuits against the state and federal government, including one against 92 Texas Department of Public Safety officers present the day of the massacre.
The suit against Meta and Activision Blizzard adds to a string of cases filed in recent years against social media companies for their influence on teenagers' behaviors ranging from vaping to bullying.
However, wrongful death lawsuits against social media companies following mass school shootings are less common.
The new lawsuit draws similarities between the Uvalde mass shooter and shooters in other school massacres. The Parkland and Sandy Hook shooters, the lawsuit says, also played “Call of Duty” leading up to their crimes, and the Parkland shooter had two Instagram accounts "that were fixated on guns."
“There is a direct line between the conduct of these companies and the Uvalde shooting," said Josh Koskoff, a partner at law firm Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder, in a statement Friday. In 2022, Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder reached a $73 million settlement with gun manufacturer Remington on behalf of the families of five children and four adults killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in Connecticut.
"Just 23 minutes after midnight on his 18th birthday, the Uvalde shooter bought an AR-15 made by a company with a market share of less than one percent," Koskoff continued. "Why? Because, well before he was old enough to purchase it, he was targeted and cultivated online by Instagram, Activision and Daniel Defense. This three-headed monster knowingly exposed him to the weapon, conditioned him to see it as a tool to solve his problems and trained him to use it."
Instagram is among teenagers' most widely used social media apps, according to Pew Research. Some 59% of teens ages 13 to 17 use the platform, a December 2023 survey of 1,453 teens found.
In recent years, the company has faced a number of legal challenges for issues related to K-12. Many lawsuits, including the one filed Friday, criticize the addictiveness of Meta's platforms, which include Facebook in addition to Instagram.
In February, a Florida school district sued Instagram and other companies accusing them of negligence and intentional, reckless conduct, and of creating a mental health crisis among teenagers as a result.
Last year, attorneys general in 41 states and the District of Columbia filed a major lawsuit against Meta, saying the social media sites have “profoundly altered the psychological and social realities of a generation of young Americans.”
Neither Meta, Activision Blizzard nor Daniel Defense responded to requests for comment on the suits filed Friday.
