Call of Duty publisher Activision and Meta are being sued for "grooming" the Robb Elementary School shooter in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022 that killed 21 people, 19 of which were students.
According to The Washington Post, families of the victims are suing the social media giant and Call of Duty publisher for exposing the "socially vulnerable" people to weapons of war.
The lawsuit alleged that the exposure to high-grade firearms on social media and gaming platforms formed a "scheme that preys upon insecure, adolescent boys."
The lawsuit argued that the online platforms knowingly exposed the shooter Salvador Ramos with AR-15-style weapons and "conditioned him to see it as the solution to his problems, and trained him to use it."
The US Sun previously reported that Ramos was an avid Dead by Daylight and Call of Duty gamer, even threatening to "shoot up a school" using an "AR-15" after he became mad at losing the game.
Arms manufacturer Daniel Defense was also sued for providing the shooter Salvador Ramos easy access to the AR-15 he used to murder the children.
Activision Rebukes Claims of Radicalizing the Youth
In response, Activision extended its sympathies to the affected families over the "horrendous and heartbreaking" shooting.
Still, it maintained that "millions of people around the world enjoy video games without turning to horrific acts." Call of Duty often records over 100 million monthly active users across its massive catalog worldwide.
Several studies already determined that there is only little correlation between playing games like Call of Duty and people's violent tendencies, much less for causing a mass shooting.
Social Media, Gaming Platforms Accused for Inciting School Shootings
The Uvalde school shooting was not the first time social media and gaming platforms were linked to the mass murders of students as the country grapples with gun regulations.
New York Attorney General Letitia James in 2022 accused forum boards 4Chan and 8Chan that radicalized the perpetrator in the Buffalo mass shooting that killed 10 Black people.
Another lawsuit on the Buffalo mass shooting later included YouTube, Reddit, and Facebook for indoctrinating then-18-year-old Payton Gendron with racist rhetoric, including the infamous "white replacement theory."
The lawsuit comes as the government cracks down on social media companies to improve policies to protect children and minors from harmful content on their platforms.
