Meta and YouTube and legal liability for addictive design and online harms

That this House notes with alarm the findings of recent legal proceedings in the United States in which Meta and YouTube have been found liable for creating platforms with addictive features that cause mental health distress and social media addiction, and in which Meta has further been found liable for endangering children by exposing them to sexually explicit material and contact with sexual predators, with both rulings delivered within a single day of one another; further notes that TikTok and Snapchat reached a settlement to avoid being involved in the trial; is deeply troubled that in the UK no action has been taken to safeguard children from addictive social media features despite mounting medical and legal evidence of the mental and physical harm they cause; recognises that practical measures such as a doomscrolling cap and raising the age of data consent to 16, alongside harms-based age ratings for online platforms, would meaningfully reduce the exposure of children in the UK to these harms; expresses concern that the Government's ongoing social media consultation is resulting in further delay to the legislative action that is urgently needed; and calls on the Government to bring forward robust, future-proof legislation that places the responsibility squarely on social media platforms to make the internet safer for children, rather than placing the burden on families and young people