FSU Expert Available for Interviews on Landmark Social Media Trial

BYLINE: Stephen Stone, National Media Strategist

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Stephen Stone, University Communications

(850) 644-2065; sstone@fsu.edu

March 26, 2026 

FSU EXPERT AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS ON LANDMARK SOCIAL MEDIA TRIAL 

Newswise — TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Big tech companies Meta Platforms and Google’s YouTube were each found negligent by a California jury on Wednesday for operating addictive products that have harmed adolescents – a decision that could impact how these companies function. 

Florida State University’s Justin Sevier, the Charles W. Ehrhardt Professor of Litigation, is available for interviews and able to provide insight into how jurors might process emotional testimony from parents and children vs. technical arguments from tech giants. Sevier can also provide analysis on public perception of the trial outcome. 

Sevier focuses on legal institutional design, where he identifies and examines the conditions under which the public willingly legitimizes legal rules, actors and tribunals. He explores his research primarily through psychology experiments in the law of evidence, studying both jury behavior and non-lawyers’ perceptions of trial outcomes, while also examining the role that popular legitimacy plays in shaping the law governing business torts and consumer behavior. 

Interview requests for Charles W. Ehrhardt Professor of Litigation Justin Sevier can be made by emailing him at jsevier@law.fsu.edu.