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The families of the school shooting victims in Uvalde, Texas, are suing Activision and Meta.The lawsuit, filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, accuses both companies of promoting the use of firearms to underage boys and argues that they “knowingly exposed the shooter to the weapon, conditioned him to see it as the solution to his problems, and trained him to use it,” The Verge reports.Altogether, 45 family members are part of the suit and claim that the games work as a “grooming” tool for children, putting them on a path toward violent acts.According to the lawsuit, the 18-year-old gunman played the game Call of Duty “obsessively,” which led him to develop skills as a marksman. The suit also states that “the shooter was being courted through explicit, aggressive marketing” on Instagram, which depicted the thrill of combat and encouraged the shooter to play more.In addition to Meta and Activision, the families are also suing Daniel Defense, the gun company that made the AR-15 used in the shooting, alleging that the company advertises its guns on Instagram in a way that glorifies combat.”Companies like Instagram and Activision do more than just allow gun companies to reach consumers — they underwrite and mainstream violence to struggling adolescents,” says Josh Koskoff, the attorney for the Uvalde families. “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.”
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Koskoff previously sued gun manufacturer Remington on behalf of the families of the victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting. Remington settled the lawsuit for $73 million.While there is precedent for suing a gun company, The Verge notes that similar lawsuits targeting video game companies have been unsuccessful. Researchers also have previously determined there’s no link between acts of physical violence and video games.
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