Earlier this week, a jury found Meta and Google negligent in operating their products in a way that harms kids and teenagers. Both companies will most certainly appeal, but the verdicts have already reverberated through the press. I don’t use any of Meta’s products (Instagram, Facebook, etc.), but I do listen to Google’s YouTube regularly, so this case caught my attention.

I’ve always thought these platforms are protected because they’re not creating the content and aren’t the publishers. They merely provide a place for publishers to post content and for users to consume it. Given this verdict, I need to learn more about this case, what the jury found these companies liable for, and why the judge allowed it to proceed.

I’m not sure what the ramifications of this case will be, but I suspect it will have an impact on sites hosting third-party content. I’m curious to see how this plays out.