Family of mass shooting victim sues Call of Duty developer Activision and gun ad publisher Meta

Families of victims of the mass shooting that occurred at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas in May 2022 have filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, the publisher of the FPS game series Call of Duty, Meta, which spread firearms advertisements on Instagram and Facebook, and gun manufacturer Daniel Defense, claiming that the content seemed to glorify the use of guns.

Meta and Activision face lawsuit by families of Uvalde school shooting victims

Uvalde families sue makers of AR-15, 'Call of Duty,' Meta over mass shooting - ABC News
https://abcnews.go.com/US/uvalde-families-sue-makers-ar-15-call-duty/story?id=110548748

On May 25, 2022, a man armed with an AR-15 assault rifle entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 students and two teachers and injuring 17. In Texas, people can legally purchase firearms when they turn 18, and the suspect purchased the rifle as soon as he turned 18 on May 16.

'Nightmare' strikes small town: Locals in grief after US elementary school shooting - 15 photos International News: AFPBB News
https://www.afpbb.com/articles/-/3406727

In his lawsuit, attorney Josh Koskoff argued that the suspect was a poor, isolated teenager living in rural Texas who learned about and targeted AR-15s because of playing the Call of Duty series and following the Daniel Defense account on Instagram.

Meta's advertising policy states that 'ads may not promote the sale or use of weapons, ammunition, or explosives.' However, it has been pointed out that there are 10 grace periods before an account is suspended for violating the weapons policy, which is more lenient than for violations of other terms.

'The arms industry and Daniel Defense did not act alone, and without Instagram, kids would never have access to guns,' Koskoff said.

An Activision spokesperson expressed condolences, saying, 'The Uvalde shooting was horrific and heartbreaking in every sense of the word,' but denied that the game had any impact, saying, 'Millions of people around the world enjoy our games without committing horrific acts.'

A settlement was reached between the majority of the victims' families and the city of Uvalde regarding this case, which included a review of the police department and the payment of $2 million (approximately 313 million yen). Attorney Koskoff also represented the settlement.

On the other hand, Koskoff's office also handled the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut in December 2012, and has a track record of reaching a $73 million (approximately 1.144 billion yen) settlement between firearms manufacturer Remington and the victim's family.