Mark Lanier Says Courtroom Wins Alone Won't Fix Big Tech

Mark Lanier isn't packing up his briefcase just because he won. The Houston attorney who led the first social media addiction case all the way to trial—and walked away with a verdict against Meta and Google in March—told the WIRED World Fair on Wednesday that the real work is just starting.

That first win landed the plaintiff $6 million. Against companies Meta's size, Lanier knows that's pocket change. His answer for what it actually takes to hold them accountable was blunt: "I think it just takes beating the tar out of them."

The bigger weapon, he argued, is states suing on behalf of their citizens. In August, attorneys general from several states—Arkansas among them, with Lanier's firm as outside counsel—took Meta to trial over allegations it failed to protect young users. Days in, Meta settled for up to $16.7 billion, spread across 51 US states and territories. The company also promised concrete changes to how teens use Instagram and Facebook, including a default two-hour time limit. TikTok accepted similar limits in a September settlement in Alabama, according to WIRED.

A $1.7 trillion company can shrug off billions as the cost of doing business. So Lanier is playing a longer game, one that runs through reputation as much as rulings. He said scrutiny shifts how the public sees these platforms—and how their own employees do. "I am not here because I'm bored on a Wednesday," he said on stage. "I'm here because I want everybody to know what these companies do—because that type of pressure will help change everything."

Lanier made the remarks in conversation with WIRED senior correspondent Lauren Goode. With addiction lawsuits still stacking up and more states eyeing their own cases, the courtroom scoreboard may matter less than the noise outside it.