this post was submitted on 25 Mar 2026
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yes.. yes it is realistic.
the precedent is set that it costs 3million per person..
3 million plus legal fees by the defense, so probably closer to 3.5 million.
The real takeaway here is not the dollar amount. It's that a jury finally recognized the mechanism: these platforms are designed to hijack attention, especially for young users, and that design choice has consequences. The 3M is a start. What matters is whether this changes how they engineer engagement or just becomes a cost of doing business.
Far from it actually. If anything appeals may pare down damages and nonpunitive damages must be backed by actual calculations. The bigger point I think is this sort of case can survive.
I'm going to move to Iceland.
what's in Iceland?
Bankers in jail after the 2008 subprime mortgages crash.
I wasn't commenting on what should morally or legally be. I'm just saying that if there's, say, 1 million plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit it's not realistic to expect 3 million dollars (minus attorneys fees) in each person's bank account. That would be 3 trillion dollars, not including whatever punitive damages end up being. There's a practical issue to be considered.