Prince Harry is offering support to British families involved in a landmark legal case against social media companies like Instagram and YouTube, after their children allegedly died following platform use.
In a video shared by BBC Breakfast, Harry met with the families in Los Angeles, California, during the U.S. court case, which reportedly accuses Instagram and YouTube of creating “addiction machines” that allegedly contributed to the deaths of their children.
“None of you should be here. So, thank you for doing everything that you’ve done, thank you for telling your stories over and over again,” the Duke of Sussex, 41, said.
“Truth, justice and accountability. Those are the three things that will come from this,”Harry added.
According to Hello!, Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle, also joined him for the visit, though she didn’t appear in BBC’s video. The couple’s visit coincided with the major lawsuit examining the mental health impact of Instagram and YouTube.
During the meeting, Harry reflected on his own legal battles, including his security case in the United Kingdom and his privacy case involving the publisher of Daily Mail, but compared the families’ ordeal to a “David vs. Goliath” situation.
“When you were sitting in court and if you have that feeling of just overwhelming emotion because you can’t believe that the people on the other side are saying what they’re saying, that by the very nature of them defending what they’re defending, the lies that they are stating, is devaluing life, is devaluing your children’s lives, if that brings stuff up for you, it is totally normal,” Harry said, according to Hello!.
The Sussexes also released a statement on their website about the case: “This week, social media companies are starting to face accountability across the world. In Los Angeles, Meta and Google face the first jury trial examining whether social media companies deliberately designed their platforms to addict children. Hundreds of families are bringing similar claims, arguing that features like infinite scroll and manipulative algorithms were built with profits, not child safety, as the priority.”
The statement also highlighted recent global moves to protect children online, including Spain’s new restriction for users under 16, following similar measures in Australia, France, and Denmark.
“We’re watching both tracks with cautious optimism. Action from world leaders signals that protecting childhood is a societal responsibility, not just a parental one,” the statement continued. “Something that has always been a prerequisite for all companies, but not yet these ones.”