The Lawyer Holding Big Tech Accountable by ‘Beating the Tar Out of Them’ in Court

Save this storySave this storyAs social media giants face allegations that they fail to protect users, attorney Mark Lanier is grappling with the question: What would it actually take to hold companies accountable?

随着社交媒体巨头面临未能保护用户的指控，律师马克·拉尼尔（Mark Lanier）正在思考一个问题：究竟需要什么才能让这些公司承担责任？

“I think it just takes beating the tar out of them,” Lanier told WIRED senior correspondent Lauren Goode at the WIRED World Fair on Wednesday.

“我认为只需要把他们打得落花流水，”拉尼尔周三在《连线》（WIRED）世界博览会上对《连线》资深记者劳伦·古德（Lauren Goode）说道。

Lanier was the lead attorney in the first social media addiction case to go to trial, which resulted in a verdict against Meta and Google in March. The plaintiff was awarded $6 million in damages—a symbolic victory but a rounding error in terms of the tech giants’ bottom lines.

拉尼尔是首起进入审判阶段的社交媒体成瘾案的首席律师，该案于三月作出了针对 Meta 和谷歌的裁决。原告获得了 600 万美元的赔偿——这虽然是一场象征性的胜利，但对于这些科技巨头的利润底线来说，不过是九牛一毛。

Lanier said lawsuits in which attorneys general represent their states have the potential to orchestrate significant change, alongside greater financial repercussions. In a case that went to trial in August, attorneys general across several states—including Arkansas, where Lanier’s firm served as outside counsel—accused Meta of failing to protect young社交媒体 users.

拉尼尔表示，由州总检察长代表其所在州提起的诉讼，除了能带来更大的经济影响外，还有可能促成重大变革。在八月份进行审判的一起案件中，包括阿肯色州（拉尼尔的律所在该州担任外部法律顾问）在内的多个州的检察长指控 Meta 未能保护年轻的社交媒体用户。

A few days into the trial, Meta agreed to a settlement of up to $16.7 billion, to be paid out to 51 US states and territories. The social media giant also pledged to make changes on how teenagers use Instagram and Facebook, such as a default two-hour time limit. (TikTok agreed to similar limits as part of a settlement in Alabama in September.)

庭审开始几天后，Meta 同意支付高达 167 亿美元的和解金，赔偿给美国 51 个州和地区。这家社交媒体巨头还承诺对青少年使用 Instagram 和 Facebook 的方式进行调整，例如设置默认两小时的使用时限。（TikTok 在九月份阿拉巴马州的一项和解协议中也同意了类似的限制。）

A $1.7 trillion-dollar company like Meta can treat such settlements and verdicts as the cost of doing business, even if the costs climb into the billions. But these cases also have more nebulous repercussions. They impact how the public—and companies’ own employees—feel about the platforms. Lanier said that, in addition to wins in court, change can come from people understanding companies’ actions and demanding accountability.

像 Meta 这样市值 1.7 万亿美元的公司，即使赔偿金额高达数十亿美元，也可以将此类和解和判决视为经营成本。但这些案件也有更深远的影响。它们影响了公众——以及公司员工自身——对这些平台的看法。拉尼尔表示，除了在法庭上获胜外，变革还可以源于人们对公司行为的了解以及对问责制的诉求。

“I am not here because I’m bored on a Wednesday,” Lanier said from the WIRED World Fair stage. “I’m here because I want everybody to know what these companies do—because that type of pressure will help change everything.”

“我出现在这里并不是因为周三无所事事，”拉尼尔在《连线》世界博览会的舞台上说道。“我在这里是因为我想让每个人都知道这些公司在做什么——因为那种压力将有助于改变一切。”