Meta and Activision are being sued by the families of the victims in the Uvalde, Texas school shooting. According to the lawsuits, the families are suing the companies over allegations that they promoted the use of firearms to underage boys.
The families accuse both Meta and Activision of knowingly exposing the shooter to the weapon and conditioning him to see it as the solution to his problems. The families also claim Meta and Activision “trained him to use it”.
The lawsuit has been filed by around 45 family members. The basis of the case is that Activision is responsible for “grooming” young men and putting them on the path towards violent acts. They claim this grooming led to the mass shooting on 24 May 2022 where 18-year-old Salvador Ramos opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, killing 21 students.
The families also say that the gunman played Call of Duty “obsessively” and developed a skill as a marksman. He also earned rewards for spending so much time in the game. His rewards also show the substantial investment the gamer put into Call of Duty. The lawsuit also says the gun he used during the shooting, the AR15 is also available in the game.
Meta is being taken to court for its “aggressive marketing” on Instagram. The families claim Meta showed the gunman “hundreds of images depicting and venerating the thrill of combat”.
Josh Koskoff, the attorney for the Uvalde families says:
“Companies like Instagram and Activision do more than just allow gun companies to reach consumers — they underwrite and mainstream violence to struggling adolescents. Instagram should stop enabling the marketing of AR-15s to kids by gun companies; and Activision should stop training and habituating kids to kill. It’s that simple.”
Activision has since responded to the lawsuit. The company says:
“Millions of people around the world enjoy video games without turning to horrific acts.”
Josh Koskoff has had experience with these sorts of cases before. The attorney won a $73 million settlement for the Sandy Hook school shootings which took place back in 2012. However, the lawsuit was awarded against the gun manufacturer. In addition to Meta and Activision, the Texas families are also suing Daniel Defense, the gun company that made the AR-15 used in the shooting.