Two recent jury verdicts against Meta and Google have drawn attention as early indicators of evolving liability risks. In separate cases, juries have found liability for certain damages on theories related to software platforms designed to drive long-term engagement.
Moody’s emphasized that the verdict itself is only an early data point.
The broader significance lies not in the results themselves, but in what they reveal about the trajectory of design-focused theories of liability, particularly those involving artificial intelligence, and how insurers can proactively manage emerging risks as technology and legal frameworks evolve.
On March 24, 2026, the jury in New Mexico v. Meta Platforms, Inc. found that Meta was liable for “intentional deception” and “unreasonable business practices” under the state’s updated Unfair Practices Act of 2025.
The next day, in KGM (Kaley) v. Meta, Google et al., a Los Angeles jury found Meta and Google (via YouTube) liable for negligence claims stemming from a now 20-year-old plaintiff’s use of their platform.
The new report, authored by Adam Grossman, director of product management at Moody’s, and Taro Ramberg, director of marketing at Moody’s, says: “The key for (re)insurers to understand is not the size of these verdicts, but the underlying theory of harm, which in these cases involves claims related to so-called participation-driven software designs.”
With the original judgment now in the spotlight and the scope of the litigation becoming clearer, the co-authors say the key questions facing (re)insurers extend beyond these cases to how underlying theories of liability translate into coverage, accumulation and broader portfolio risks.
Moody’s report continued: “This shifts the focus to the underlying basis of liability and what it could mean for the portfolio, both for these cases and for others that are already brewing or are about to occur.”
The deeper challenge for insurers is that historical loss experience alone cannot capture such risks before they start to surface in litigation, the report said.
Moody’s said emerging casualty risks are often a by-product of technological change, with risks accumulating before claims and legal verification. Identifying, monitoring and managing these risks requires forward-looking analytical approaches that reflect how new technologies are translated into liability through scientific discoveries and legal innovations.
The report adds: “Risks are starting to emerge in situations such as the addictive software litigation, but forward-looking models such as CoMeta, now in its 12th year, remain critical for understanding how and where exposures can aggregate in (re)insurers’ books.”
The co-authors conclude: “Standard actuarial methods that combine early loss experience with forward-looking model projections of ultimate losses remain critical to managing reserves and cash flow as claims arise and are resolved. Forward-looking analysis complements these fundamentals by helping insurers interpret limited early signals in the context of evolving science, legal theory, and product design practices.”
“More broadly, a forward-looking approach to emerging risk management helps (re)insurers set and maintain stringent requirements for the accumulation of various hazards that may, over time, translate into losses. Not all emerging risks will mature into litigation or insured losses.”
