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Prince Harry is praising a federal judge’s decision ordering Meta to pay a fine of $567 million for failing to warn the public about the dangers its platforms pose to children.
“For years we’ve argued that big tech’s harm to children was a choice, not some inevitable side effect,” Prince Harry says in a statement shared with Town & Country. “This is not an accident. It is not a glitch. What we’ve seen in the last 24 hours is what accountability looks like. This is what happens when the law finally catches up to decisions made in boardrooms, product meetings, and algorithm reviews — decisions that put social media engagement ahead of safety. The bar has moved, and every platform still choosing engagement over safety should take notice. Change cannot wait another day.”
A Meta spokesman has said they plan to appeal the decision. “We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and have been transparent about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors and harmful content,” they said.
The Duke of Sussex, and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, have long been outspoken about the need for safer online spaces. “Lasting change requires safer platforms by design, meaningful accountability, and a commitment to putting children’s wellbeing ahead of engagement and profit. The burden cannot rest solely on parents and children. It must also be borne by the companies. Until then, every day without meaningful change is another day that children remain exposed to preventable harm,” the Sussexes said earlier this year.
In March, too, they reacted to a ruling on a social media addiction trial, writing, “Let this be the change—where our children’s safety is finally prioritised above profit.” There’s no word on why today’s statement was only from Prince Harry and not Meghan as well.
In 2024, they launched the Parents Network through their Archewell Foundation, a support network for parents whose children have been impacted by online, social media harm. This past spring, Meghan traveled to Geneva to madke a keynote speech at the unveiling of the Lost Screen Memorial.
