Social media giants should be worried

Oh, yes, our friends over at Metta, they had it.

Was it a tough week last week or what? I want to dive into it a little bit. I do. We've got to,

because it was just back-to-back smackdown. Metta was handed a back-to-back smackdown, and Google

was a part of it. Google got in on the action. What does it mean? What, and not only what does it mean,

but what, what future landslides is this going to create? Because you know there's a line of people,

there is a host of people in line, itching, itching to get a piece of the Metta pie here,

and they've got to be thinking if I can, I mean if I can show some damage brought to me by Metta,

I mean there's a line I'm telling you, Metta might be in trouble. Metta might be in trouble. So

we're going to look at that, both the Mexico case or I'm sorry, New Mexico and the Los Angeles case.

I want to get into it. Also last week we were having this conversation on technology and what would

it possibly look like if teachers were replaced by screens? And that conversation was just

getting good, but we weren't able to really finish it. So I would kind of like to revisit that

a little bit today in conjunction with what's happening over there at Metta. And you know there's

some other things. There's an interesting piece from a fellow out of the epoch times talking about

life symphonies which, you know, I have fallen in love with the symphony as of late, just

fallen in love with it. Do you know what I can't get enough of? I'll have kids in my office

at any given time and not necessarily because they're in trouble, but they're in there.

We're having conversations or, you know, whatever. But I'll be playing in the background

Mozart's Requiem to see a Requiem. And they'll look at me like, what's that?

Where's that opera coming from? It's just a bit because I've fallen in love with it. I can't get

enough of it. I truly, I can't. I'm so mesmerized by it. And this piece here in the epoch times,

he asks an important question, is life symphony performance going away? And my only hope is that

no, it's not going away. And I would love to go to a life symphony. That is, that's one of my

objectives, I think, for the, it's a goal that I've got in the next 12 months. I want to sit

in on a life symphony. That's where we're going with this. So I want to look at that. Also,

we just got some fun planned for today. We're going to dive into it. I don't know, maybe we might

get to a history class. I don't know. We'll see how, we'll see how the day goes. I know I normally

start history first, but I mean, there's some other stuff I want to get into. So we may get to

a history class before the day is done, but, but before we do anything, my friends, I implore you.

I encourage you. I remind you that this summer, we are going to be celebrating 250 years of

American independence. And we're going to be celebrating in style and Nashville, Tennessee,

July 2nd, July 3rd, July 4th. And there is, I've got a special invitation for you. There

is an offer right here on the table for you, a 25% discount from your registration price using

code dean, D-E-A-N code dean, go to america out loud dot news slash Nashville and use code dean

for 25% off. I mean, it's, it is, it's a great discount. And the event itself is going to be

more than great. You're going to hear world class speakers. You're going to experience world class

entertainment. You're going to enjoy world class food. You're going to be with like-minded

patriots celebrating 250 years of America. And the fireworks, Saturday night, downtown Nashville,

unlike any display that's going to happen throughout the country. So join us. Join us in Nashville,

use code dean for 25% off. Go to america out loud dot com slash Nashville. And let's just let

the good times roll because they are. They're going to roll with the vengeance. Okay, let's, let's

look at what happened to matter. I mean, last week meta took it to the throat, just a flat out

throat punch. Well, we'll go to New Mexico first. The jury there found that meta, which of course

we know as the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Zuckerberg and the gang over there

at meta. This jury found that they violated a state law by feeling to fully disclose risks

to children on its social media platform. Raul Torres, the new Mexico attorney general,

brought the case following an undercover operation where adults were able to send

inappropriate sexual material to agents posing as underage users. Users, but by the way,

remember, we brought that word up last week in our conversation that there are only two industries

that refer to their clientele as users, the drug industry and this industry right here, the

software industry, the social media industry slash software. Users, that's what we are to them,

but we're just users, addicted users, all right, we'll get into that though in the in the California

piece. So attorney general Raul Torres alleged that meta violated new Mexico's unfair practices act

because meta knew about possible danger to children, but hid that from the public. Here's what he

said. What this case has about is one of the biggest tech companies in the world,

taking advantage of new Mexico teens. The jury found that meta breached the state's consumer

protection law and imposed a $375 million fine. $375 million fine. Who gets that money?

But if it's a fine, who are they paying the fine to? Is that going to the state?

Inquiring mind to your one or no, prosecutor Linda Singer had asked the jury to find the social media

giant two billion holy smokes. Singer was going for it. She said safety issues on meta's platforms

weren't mistakes. They were a product of a corporate philosophy that chose growth and engagement

over children's safety and young people in this state and around the country have borne the cost.

Oh, okay, meta attorney Kevin Huff said the company works hard to protect children.

He said meta has 40,000 people working to make its apps as safe as possible. That's what he said

to the jurors. But he said the company cannot intercept every harmful interaction.

No one can, with billions of pieces of content every day, even the best system cannot catch all of it,

he said. Huff told jurors the company has an interest in protecting users. There we are again.

There's that word users. Company has an interest in protecting users. And that safety protocols

are good for business. Meta designed its apps to help people connect with friends and family,

not to try to connect predators, he said. Prosecutors have also accused the company of fueling social

media addiction. That was backed up at a trial by testimony from teachers who said they dealt with

the follow. It's clear that young people are spending too much time on meta's products. They've

lost control. Singer told the jury during her closing remarks.

We respectfully disagree with the verdict and we'll appeal. This is what a spokesperson

for meta said. We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and are clear about the

challenges of identifying and removing bad actors or harmful content. We will continue to defend

ourselves vigorously and we remain confident in our record of protecting teens online and our record

of protecting our users. We have to protect our users. Meta has defended itself by saying that the

first amendment of the Constitution and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act

protected the company from liability. Section 230 says interactive computer service

and providers of this service usually cannot be held liable for content published on their

platforms by third parties. Although the statute does not grant blanket immunity,

the Supreme Court declined to alter the law in 2023. Last August, two senators called for the

company to be investigated after writers reported it had viewed an internal policy document

that said meta's AI tools are allowed to engage a child in conversations that are romantic

or sensual. If you are finding internal policy documents that allow for meta's AI tools to do that,

then I think we have got something here. The jury obviously felt that way. The jury obviously

felt like there was something here. It seems that if you run a social media company and if you

really cared about kids and you cared about protecting kids that your internal policy documents

would say something to the effect that we do not want our AI tools to have the ability to engage a

child in conversations that are romantic and or sensual. I mean, it seems like that that would be

one of the first, if you were interested, I'm just putting this out there. If you were interested

in really truly protecting kids, then your internal policy documents would state that. Would they

not? But if they're stating the opposite, then we've got issues and apparently New Mexico

here at this jury discovered the same. I want to know who they're paying this $375 million to.

All right. Now, of course, they're appealing and it'll go to a court of appeals and they're

going to get some Obama judge who is, you know, he's going to be like, ah, we're going to throw

this. I mean, probably. And then we'll see what happens when it gets to the Supreme Court. It

will make its way to the Supreme Court. I'm sure of it because they're going to win on appeal. Look

at me, it just out here predicting what's going to happen in the legal landscape. You know what,

you can almost determine if they can find themselves one of the pellet districts that are very left.

You know, you can see which way this thing is going to go, which way it's going to shape out.

But when it gets to the Supreme Court, then really all bets are off because you've got some,

you got some wild cards on that bench and they have been appointed by Trump. Trump just said,

let's, let's mix it up. Let's get some wild cards. I don't think you knew that they were,

that they had the potential to be rogue actors. Look at me out here calling Supreme Court

Justices rogue actors. I mean, I'm talking about rogue actors from the sense that

that they don't appear to be conservative in certain areas and certain conversations and certain

decisions. They are going rogue from the conservative plantation as it were, from the conservative

ranch as it were, from the hollowed grounds of conservatism as it were. I don't think he knew that

going into it, you know, when he had his list of names. I don't, you know, I mean, it's unfortunate.

It truly is. It's unfortunate. Now they've made some good decisions, but not all the time,

not all of their decisions have been absolutely stellar. So we're going to see, we're going to see

what, what happens when, when we get to, so that was New Mexico. But California, holy smokes,

this, this decision in California. The jury found meta and Google liable and social media

addiction trial. Now this one, this, the social media addiction case, this is where holy smokes,

things are going to get interesting. I mean, this is going to open up the door for everybody

and their brother to get in line and get a piece of the Google slash meta pie. That's what we're

going to see. And how is it going to, to change the social media landscape? This is, this is going

to be interesting and we're going to, we're going to keep our eye on it. All right. I'm looking

at the clock, speaking of keeping our eye on things and we're coming up against the break. So

let's pause here for a minute and then we'll pick up the, the California case when we come out of

the other side of the break. I want to remind you on our way out that our friends at Chemical

Free Body are interested in, and really boosting and saving your immune system. I don't know how you

did this, this cold and flu season, but I did literally the best I've ever done. I came out of it

the best I've ever, the best I ever have. Now towards the tail end of it there, towards the,

you know, going into March, there was something that was, you know, making an attempt at taking me

out. I was like, no, I am staying true to my regimen. And part of my regimen includes the daily

V-stack brought to you by our friends at Chemical Free Body. The daily V-stack is, that's like an oral

IV, I mean, a vitamins A, C, D, zinc, just a host of goodness is found in the daily V-stack. And

I attribute my, my success coming out of cold and flu season this year to, to, to my regimen

and specifically to the daily V-stack. And if you want to give it a shot, if you want to make it

part of your daily regimen and you haven't done so yet, your first, your first order using code

out loud at americaoutloud.shop. Your first order is, is 20% off. Use code out loud at americaoutloud.shop

for 20% off. It's a fantastic deal for a fantastic product. My friends, you can't, you can't be

anywhere. Alright, on the other side of this break, we're going to take a visit to Los Angeles.

And we're going to detail and analyze the throat punch that the LA jury gave to Meta. We'll

pick it up on the other side. Let's get real, let's get loud. On americaout loud talk news.

Yes, this is Dr. Peter McCullough and I'm personally inviting you to join me in Nashville

on July 2nd, 3rd and 4th for historic experience in 2026. America out loud news,

250 slash 10 Nashville. Along with clear and the wellness company, we're celebrating two big

milestones, 250 years of America and 10 years of America out loud news. I'm calling all Patriots to

this historic weekend with inspiring entertainment, incredible fireworks and nationally recognized

speakers who proudly stand for freedom. I would love to see you there because your presence

matters and you are family now is the time to get together and weaken your exchange ideas,

answer your questions and enjoy fellowship. Join us and register now at americaoutloud.news

forward slash Nashville. That's americaoutloud.news forward slash Nashville. We'll see you there.

Feeling off lately, bloated, brain fog, low energy? It could be parasites.

The sound vaiders so weaken your gut immune system and mental clarity. That's why Dr.

Peter McCullough and the doctors at the wellness company formulated ivermectin and mebendizoclents,

a medical grade solution designed to help eliminate parasites and restore balance. No gimmicks,

just real medicine trusted by top doctors. Go to TWC.health4th slash out loud and use code

out loud for 20% off your first order. Take control of your health today.

In just two minutes per day, you could reclaim your health and cut your grocery bill in half with one

simple convenient product. Our doctor formulated green 85 juice formula's powerful dose of ultra

concentrated essential nutrients stops hunger in its tracks and supplies your cells with what's

missing in the grocery store food. Go to chemicalfreebody.com forward slash out loud today,

get nature super multivitamin green 85, empower your immune system, cut down on your grocery bill,

and save 20% on your first order. The smartest food on the planet doesn't come

from a lab or in a package. It grows in a class jar. I'm Doug Evans, author of the National

Best Seller, The Sprout Book. Sprouts deliver up to 100 times the antioxidants of mature vegetables.

They grow in just three to five days for under a dollar serving. Get your sprouting kit at

thespoutingcompany.com slash out loud use the code out loud for an exclusive offer.

Gross smarter.

Use code D, by the way, use code D go to americaoutloud.com. I'm sorry America out loud.news slash

Nashville when you're registering for the the celebration this summer July 2nd July 3rd July 4th

and then use code D for 25% off of your ticket registration price.

You can't beat that deal. Code D, my friends, use it. I would love to see you in Nashville. It's

going to be such a glorious time. Think about it. Celebrating American independence with like-minded

patriots just getting to hear nationally renowned speakers. I mean, Dr. Carol Swain is fantastic.

Dr. O'Vita King, fantastic. Dr. Peter McCullough, Malcolm, it's just going to be a blast.

And I really, truly hope that you join us and you get 25% off when you use code D, America out loud.

Dot news slash Nashville. All right. Let's go to Los Angeles. Los Angeles.

And let's take a look at round two. Meta was in a- I don't know. I guess it wouldn't be a

two round fight. It was two distinct fights. And Meta just got it handed to him.

So this was- I feel like these two days were back to back. I think New Mexico came out

on the 24th of March. I think Los Angeles came out on the 25th. And while New Mexico was a bigger

dollar amount, they were ordered to pay $375 million in fines. I think the Los Angeles verdict

opens up more of a door. I think the Los Angeles verdict might actually be more substantial

because it found that Google and Meta were both liable and damages that related to

social media addiction. Now, again, the amount wasn't as great. Six million,

six million in damages. And then there was an additional three million in punitive damages,

which I think that that three million goes in a lump sum to KJM. KJM here is the 20-year-old

plaintiff. Kaley GM. And so we're calling her KGM. She was pitted against the two tech giants,

Google and Meta. And the jury was being asked to consider whether the companies could be held accountable

for psychological harms that KJM suffered as a result of an addiction to their apps,

YouTube and Instagram. She claimed she was addicted. Couldn't couldn't couldn't get off

of the three million and and the three million in compensatory damages Meta was ordered to pay

70% and Google was ordered to pay 30% and then the jury awarded another three million in punitive

damages, including 2.1 from Meta and 900 from Google. All right. So it looks like it looks like the

six million is total. And the and half of that in punitive damages looks like it's going to be a

lump sum. All right. So I initially I thought that it was six million and then maybe an additional

three million for punitive, but that three million looks like it's a part of the six.

The verdict here came after nine days of deliberation. And the interesting thing, the thing that

we've got to keep our eye out on. And that certainly Meta and Google have to keep their eye out on

is the stage was set here. The stage was set for thousands of related lawsuits

brought by parents, children, school districts, attorneys, general across the country.

I mean, they're all in line here. They're like, okay, let's go. I mean, I, you know,

I suffered some addictions. I need to I need to get in line here.

Uh, this could create a blueprint for how to argue future claims and what,

what types of damages might be sought. Snap, Snapchat and TikTok, according to this article,

they were also defendants on the lawsuit. But perhaps wisely on their part, they settled before

trial began. They're like, we see where this thing is going. Let's settle right now. Let's let's

settle for a portion that's in and let's just get get out of this thing. Responding to the verdict,

a Meta spokesperson, who those Meta spokespeople, I'm telling you what, they had a busy week.

And this one says, we respectfully disagree with the verdict and are evaluating our legal options.

You better believe you are. You better believe you, you respectfully disagree and you're evaluating

your legal options. Google on the other hand remained silent. They did not offer a comment.

Over five weeks, this is how, how long the trial lasted. Attorneys sparred over competing

narratives about the nature and impact of social media on young people's brains. And, and we have been

diagnosing as it were. We've been analyzing what takes place in the minds and brains of young people,

those who spend a particular amount of time on social media. We've been looking at the research

right alongside this, this, this trial here. And so five weeks, this has been on display.

But, but the other thing that, that was really explored in this trial is, is what company leaders

knew and when they knew it. And what may have caused this young woman's years-long psychological

term. That's the key. What did they know? And when did they know it? Did they know that their

apps were addictive? Did they create them to be addictive with all the bells and whistles and

and and chimes and dopamine dumps of likes and hearts? And well, of course they did. Of course,

that's what they want people to keep coming back. Isn't that the point of having a product?

Don't you want people to keep coming back to it? I mean, it seems to me that if you operate a

social media company, you want people to use your social media server. You want them to be users.

That's the name. I mean, it's that way for every product.

I mean, could we start suing Coca-Cola for making their cola's addictive because of the sugar

content that's in it? Or Pepsi? I mean, this, I don't, I don't know. I think,

I mean, do the companies need to be liable for what they they knew? I mean, if they knew they were

they were harming kids, you know, I mean, this was the debate against Philip Morris and the

and the cigarette industry, you know, back in the day, you know, back in the late 80s and early 90s.

I mean, at some point, don't we take responsibility for ourselves? I don't know.

I don't mean to come in on one side of the other here, but I think self responsibility

self-regulation, self-government. I think all of that is important for us. I think it's something that

we have to we have to align ourselves with. All right. So this this was the question. What did they

know? When did they know it? So the jurors according to this piece, they sets don't face throughout

the testimony they heard from therapists, adolescent addiction experts, executives, engineers,

whistleblowers. I mean, they they went through the gamut. Lawyers picked apart KGM's lengthy

medical records. They strolled through her sensitive family history. They debated whether

her mental health struggles were were likely caused or worsened by a social media addiction

or possibly by a genetic disposition to mental illness brought on by a chaotic family life marked

by neglect and abuse. Wow. This I'm sure this family's history was dragged through it.

Speaking to reporters after the trial, two of the jurors who will remain nameless

described the painstaking process of reviewing the evidence in every direction. One said

and carefully considering the law before finally coming to a consensus, one juror who just said

will refer to herself as Victoria. She said we looked at everything. We looked at everything

keely went through and what the process these platforms had in place that was going to prevent these

harms. But apparently they discovered that there really wasn't much of a prevention there.

They awarded the three million in compensatory damages based on consideration of what someone

that keely would have made throughout her lifetime. Victoria said we wanted them to feel it. We

wanted them to realize this is not acceptable, acceptable, preferring to met it in Google. We

wanted them to feel it. Do you think they're going to feel three million? I mean, really.

She added that some jurors were hesitant to award more substantial punitive damages

because it would be paid out to the plaintiff in a lump sum rather than put into a trust.

The judge in this case instructed jurors to consider each company's net worth to be equal to

its 2025 total stockholders' equity. So these are the numbers. Metta was 217 billion and

alphabet, which is Google's parent company, was 415 billion. So really, do you think they felt

6 million? I mean, if they're net worth, if Metta's net worth is 217 billion and Google's net worth

is almost double that at 450, do you think they're going to billion with a beat? Are they going to

feel 6 million dollars? We wanted them to feel it. We wanted them to realize this is not like

they don't feel it. This is this is chump change to them. I mean, and as I said, and the New Mexico case

375 million. Yeah, okay. I mean, they're going to feel that a little differently than 6 million.

But the thing here is in this case is the door is going to be opened up

to Metta and Google and even Snapchat and TikTok and the others. They're all going to,

I mean, there's just people in line. They're in line. The plaintiff, in this case, testified

that she began using YouTube at age 6 and Instagram at age 9. Okay, so at this point,

I mean, we just have to ask, where's my my dad? Now, we put YouTube in front of our kids' eyes at age 6.

We, you know, YouTube kids or YouTube, whatever. They're watching YouTube. Instagram at 9. I mean,

if they have a phone, you know, they're about ready to go into middle school and so they're giving

a phone and guess what? They're on Instagram. They're on YouTube. They're on TikTok. They're on

Snapchat. They're around all of it. This is this is not good. I'm just telling you right now,

it's not good. KGM soon developing anxiety, depression, body dysmorphia, other disorders,

she noted, she was hooked at times spending 16 hours per day in the apps and returning even after

incessant bullying. Even after being bullied on the on social media, she just kept coming back 16

hours. All right. So you're sleeping eight. That's every, every waking moment that you have.

You're on social media. 9 out of 10 US teens use YouTube.

73% said they're on YouTube every single day. These are, this is data that the attorneys used

and this is from the Pew Research Center out of a 2024 report. Worldwide YouTube is the most

watched app followed closely by Instagram with both estimated to have between two billion

and three billion users. Ah, they're again, they're again users. We're all users. That's it.

We're users. The high stakes trial unfolded during a critical moment when governments around the

world are ramping up online safety laws or imposing blanket social media bands for younger users.

Parents are calling for regulatory reform. What if parents are calling for their own family reform?

You know, what would happen if parents called for a familial reform and start laying down the law?

What do you think would happen if parents just en masse? That's it. We're done. You don't get social

media until you're 18. Ooh, that would be something. But it's not going to happen. I mean, we know it's

not going to happen because, you know, parents don't, they don't have the authority that they want to have.

I mean, that's something that my parents probably would have said. 18 Dean, they're 21 Dean,

or when you leave the house, you can, you know, as long as you're under my roof, it's not happening.

And that kind of stuff was happening then. But, you know, we've sort of let it go. We've just,

we've sort of let it go. And again, it's not, it's not the fault of one group. It's not the fault

of parents. Really, it's, it's a collective societal thing. I mean, it happened in our schools.

And we let it go. We've, it's happened in the pulpits and churches and we've let it go. And then

it's affected the family. Those by the way are the three institutions of society, the school,

the church and the family. And they have disintegrated. And they, and it's, it's been on purpose.

It's been a plan. You know, it has been, has it been a communist plot? I mean, maybe, I mean,

speaking of Instagram, I saw on Instagram the other day, pictures from the No Kings rally in New

York recently. And the, the flag that I saw the most, again, this was one photo. So,

but it's the hammer in the sickle. It's the flag of communism being waived, being flown in New

York City, unashamedly. This is, you know, the, the school and the family and the church has

disintegrated. And the communists told us that they would take over our country without firing a

shot. And they own New York. I mean, they, they own the city of the world. I mean, New York City

is the world city. It's the world's capital, ultimately. That means the big apples, the home of

the U.N. It's the, and, and now it's become, it's become a communist stronghold. And it's

unfortunate. I'm telling you, it's, it's horrible. All right. I'm, I'm digressing. I don't mean to,

don't mean to digress, but we got into the parents calling for regulatory reform. And I'm like,

why don't they call for a familial reform? We should be, we're calling for a societal reform.

But in order to do that, we've got to take back our families. We have to take back our schools.

We have to take back our churches. And that take back has to be organized. It just can't be done

on a women little pockets. It's got to be, it's got to be something that we organize ourselves

around. All right. This piece refers to the grieving parents who lost children to suicidal or fatal

viral challenges. And so I want to, I want to dive into that. I'm looking at the clock here,

though, and I'm up against it on this break. So let's look at the grieving side of this, of this

story of this case. When we come back on the other side, you're listening to the Dean's list

and America out loud talk radio. Oral hygiene hasn't changed in 50 years, but our diet and the way

we eat has, creating an environment in your mouth for bacteria to wreck havoc on your teeth and

gums. For better oral health, get spread dental defense and oral care line designed to combat

acid creating bacteria. The toothpaste, mouthwashments and gum all contain xylitol and natural

ingredients shown to dramatically improve oral health. Sprite can be found online and at all

find natural retailers. Have you been looking for a healthy snack for on the go? Well, not all energy

bars are soft and sugary. Bear bars are a crunchy, savory bar made from just six simple natural

ingredients. Bear bars are plant-based organic gluten-free contain six grams of protein and

are low temperature dried for a unique crunch. Most energy bars are based on chocolate or fruit

and are held together with serps or sweeteners to learn more. Just visit bearbar.com slash out loud.

I've got two questions for you. Have you been filling off since COVID? Are you struggling with

lingering symptoms? You're not alone. As Dr. Peter McCalla says, an ounce of prevention is worth

a pound of cure, introducing the wellness company's spike detox trio. This powerful supplement

combines nano kinase, bromelene and turmeric to support your immune system and find off harmful

spike proteins. Nano kinase improves circulation, will bromelene boost antiviral defenses and turmeric

reduces inflammation. It's not just another supplement. It's a scientifically back solution to

help you bounce back from COVID. Imagine waking up filled with energy, filling clear-headed

and vibrant again. It's possible with spike detox trio. Re-claim your health now by visiting

twc.held slash out loud and use promo code out loud for 20% off your first order right now.

Let's go Dean. My friends, mark out loud.new slash Nashville. Use code

for 25% off of your ticket price. Join us in Nashville this summer. We'd love to see you.

It's going to be great. Cannot wait to be in Nashville July 2nd, 3rd and 4th.

And I'd love for you to be there. 25% off your ticket price. Use code, Dean.

Okay, so let's wrap up this case here in Los Angeles. Just a host of people came through

the jurors literally heard from everybody and their brother. Grieving parents who lost children

to suicide or fatal viral challenges, they say, were caused by defendants, app features.

And this was a constant present throughout the trial. jurors constantly heard this theme.

Sometimes they arrived before dawn or camped out all night to get a seat in the courtroom.

So they're just, I mean, these are just not only people testifying, but people flooding the room,

people flooding the area. Victoria Hinks and her husband Paul Hinks

lost their 16 year old daughter, Alexandra, to suicide in 2024. After a brief struggle with

mental illness that they say was driven by, by social media. And here's what Victoria told the

epoch times. All the parents were so happy. We feel our kids are smiling down on us.

And we feel we have a little bit of power back sitting in that room listening to the jury.

And the system worked and it rendered a just verdict. I'm glad the jury agreed with the plaintiff

that this was an unsafe product. They made it addictive to children. They knew what they were

doing and every parent and their tried their best to keep their kids safe. That's what Paul said.

Her husband, the product is broken. You can't blame the parents. It's not our job to keep their

customers safe on their product. So this is interesting because, you know, essentially,

social media is a young industry. And we're really just now discovering and realizing what it

does to the human brain. We're just now discovering and realizing the addictive power that it has

over the human mind, especially young people whose brains are not fully formed yet. They're not

fully developed. That prefrontal cortex. Yeah, it's not, you know, it hasn't completed its developmental

cycle yet. And we are just now discovering the effects that is being played upon adolescent minds

and brains here. So I kind of agree with Paul here. I think it's fair to say that in this case,

when we're just now discovering what's happening, you can't really blame the parents.

I think after the fact, you know, after what we're learning and discovering,

you know, that's a different story. I mean, we get it now. And more information is going to

keep coming out. And we're going to continue getting it and continue understanding it. But now in

this, this industry is relatively young. And if these guys knew it, and I mean, by these guys,

I mean, the social media companies, the tech giants, if they knew it, if they understood,

then I think the onus is on them. I think their responsibility solely lies on them.

The case narrowly focused on design and operation features, such as infinite scroll,

beauty filters, and the company's proprietary algorithms, rather than third party content

hosted on the platforms. So, you know, because this was, this was kind of the beef and the

complaint the company said, we can't control what's being posted on our platforms. We can't,

we can't control the third party content. We've got to be, you know, we're protected by the

first amendment in section 230 of the blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, you know, you get all that.

But the focus here was on proprietary content of the company, their proprietary algorithms,

their infinite scroll, their beauty filters, you know, et cetera. And here pointing to internal

documents, unsealed during the trial, meta whistleblowers testified that the company was well aware

of the harms to young users, but chose to ignore them, likening defendants to lions stocking

wounded gazelles on the serengeti. Plaintiff's attorney Mark Leneer argued that the tech giants

trade upon vulnerable teens in pursuit of money and power. Here's what he told the jury,

they never go after the strongest, they never go after the boldest, they find the one that's weaker,

that's more vulnerable, and that's the one they get. That's the one they go after,

and that's the one they get. And the jury is just taking this in. And, you know, well,

reports said that they were stone faced, they're inside, they're nodding their internal heads.

I mean, obviously, hindsight, we see that they were nodding their internal heads here.

Mark Zuckerberg among company executives denied designing addictive apps or targeting minors,

and he questioned whether social media addiction even exists.

Oh, okay, that's interesting. Here's what Zuckerberg told the jury during his testimony.

To me, the North Star is making sure we're delivering value,

and people are having a positive experience. And if that happens, I think people will naturally spend

more time on the platform. So they're having a positive experience, there's value there,

and they're going to spend more time. It's not addictive. I mean, the bells and whistles and

the dopamine hits. I mean, that's not that's not on us. We're simply providing a product of value,

and people are having a positive experience. Defendants attorney argued that their platforms

were a creative outlet for an already troubled child who came of age during the heightened stress

of COVID-19. They said the companies had taken an overcautious approach,

introducing protective features even when evidence of risks was inconclusive.

They argued that KGM's troubles started long before she began using social media.

This is what one of Metta's attorneys Paul Schmidt told the jury during his closing argument.

He said their case depends on asking you to find that if you focus only on Instagram,

somehow her life would be meaningfully different, referring to KGM.

The evidence did not show that. It showed just the opposite.

Google's attorney Luis Lee argued that YouTube is not really social media, but rather a streaming

app, kind of like Netflix. I mean, we're not even social media, really. We're just

we're streaming. We're kind of like we're no different than Netflix. We're no different than

the TV, really. We're just we're just out here streaming. You know, and kids are just going to

get on a watch. It's like just like Netflix. All right. Well, there it is, my friends. The

six million dollars and again, six million dollars is a drop in the bucket. Six million dollars

isn't isn't really much of anything. Not to these not to these massive companies,

but what is much is the door that's being opened. And of course Zuckerberg is going to come out

and say, I don't I don't think social media is addictive. I mean, we're out here just providing

a product to value and people are having a positive experience. So of course, naturally they're

going to come back. It's a positive experience. You know, our people at the bar just going back

because they're having a positive experience. Or is it is it is it something more?

Is it something more? Is it you know, do people engage in anything addictive because it's a

positive experience? Or is it is there something more? And this is the door that opens up.

And there's a line of people waiting waiting to get a piece of the metapie, waiting to get a piece

of the the Google pie. And interestingly enough, we get it. We know based upon the research that

that we've dealt with here, just here on this program in the past just in the past few days,

we have talked through the research that explains what is going on in the human brain while,

well, you know, screens are being used. And it's not, you know, it's it's not that it's not addictive.

It is it certainly appears to be that way. And not only not only that,

but it also appears to be detrimental to learning, detrimental to understanding, detrimental

to comprehending. We've looked at the studies, we've looked at the research. And last week,

we got into this conversation, what happens when when teachers are replaced by a screen,

a screen to screens, Emily Chirkin and neuroscientist Jared Horvath, both testified before Congress

on the effects of screens. And they were in this piece put together by the epoch times,

we're both of them are discussing really, you know, what's happening here.

Researchers, according to the to the reports here, researchers in this area have long compared

compared traditional learning methods with learning methods that are that are based on the screen.

Now, I know in these particular meta and Google cases, it's not really about education,

it's not about learning, it's about doom scrolling. But we have an element and education today

that really wants to to push tech ed. And it will have the the same effect as

doom scroll, it's not going to be beneficial. Across studies, we know that writing notes by hand

and reading from actual paper helps students remember and understand more than typing or

reading on a screen. The typing and reading on a screen tends to make reading faster,

but it also makes it more scattered. But it's not only just about screens versus paper,

there are deeper reasons why students learn better from having an actual teacher in the room,

rather than than learning from screens. Because right now there's this push.

There is this there is this technological push that we encourage got to got to be on their

computers. They got to be learner from computers. In his book, why students don't like school.

Willingham said that to remember something, one must first think about it. If an idea does not

demand attention and effort, the idea won't stick. When work is too easy, students get bored

and they drift, he said. And and therefore many many of these ed tech platforms are designed

to to reduce friction. They get instant hits, there's autofill, there's gamified rewards,

there's seamless search that creates, you know, quote, unquote, momentum.

Students may move quickly and feel successful throughout these programs as they as they work

through and play these games or whatever, these educational games. But speed and fluency are not

the same as mastery. It was reading the Count of Monte Cristo last night. And at one point in the

story, the the Abby and Edmund Don Tess are are talking about, you know, they're planning their

escape from the prison. And they've been talking about the past two years or the past year,

how it's not been wasted because the Abby has been teaching Don Tess philosophy and language

and economics and math and he's he's been been receiving an education. And he, you know,

the Abby was like, I can teach you everything and about to everything I know in about two years.

And Don Tess was like, holy smokes, I'm going to get all that in two years, I'm going to be brilliant.

And he said, well, yes, you're going to learn it. But you're not really going to know it because,

you know, learning, yes, you'll remember, but then there's a philosophy behind it. That philosophy

comes in the application where you're going to have to actually apply it. And it applies here to

to this ed tech platform design where speed and fluency of getting through a game and maybe,

you know, solving some math problems for rewards, those aren't the same as mastery.

Speed and speed and fluency aren't the same as mastery. Mastery comes when there's a philosophy

of a thing that's being studied. And you can spit it back out and you understand the wise.

And the house and the winds and the wares. You get all that. And it's not really, it's not going

to happen through technology. It just isn't technology. My friends is not the savior of the country.

It isn't going back going back. That's that's what will save us going back to our roots going

back to our founding. All right. So meta and Google took a throat punch last week. We're going

to see where this goes from here. It is going to be interesting. What other doors are going to open

up? Who's going to walk through? Who's going to demand a piece of their own pie? Who wants the money?

That's what that's what's going on here. That's what this is all about. All right. My friends,

we're up against it. That is it. That is all the time we have for today. America. Thank you for

joining us. Encourage your friends and family to get on the Dean's list. Let's unite to renovate the