Colorado Mother Celebrates Social Media Verdicts After Son’s Fentanyl Death

A Colorado mother whose 18-year-old son died from a fentanyl-laced pill purchased through social media is celebrating recent court victories against Meta and YouTube. Kimberly Osterman says the verdicts show tech companies can be held accountable for platform designs that harm children.

THORNTON, Colo. — A mother from Colorado is praising recent court decisions against major tech companies after losing her teenage son to a deadly drug purchased through social media platforms.

Kimberly Osterman’s 18-year-old son Max passed away in 2021 after taking what he believed was Percocet, which he had arranged to buy from a dealer he met on Snapchat. The pill contained a lethal amount of fentanyl, and Max died the following morning.

“The truth is out, and it’s time that they are held accountable for the design of the platforms,” Osterman stated. “They put profits over safety.”

This week brought two significant legal victories that Osterman believes will pave the way for holding social media companies responsible for child safety. On Wednesday, a Los Angeles jury ruled that both YouTube and Meta — the parent company of Instagram and Facebook — are liable for creating platforms specifically designed to captivate young users in harmful ways. Both companies have expressed disagreement with the rulings and are considering appeals.

Meanwhile, a separate jury in New Mexico concluded that Meta deliberately damaged children’s mental health while hiding information about child sexual exploitation occurring on its platforms. Meta has announced plans to appeal this decision as well.

Before the Los Angeles trial commenced in January, Snapchat’s parent company Snap Inc. reached a settlement for an undisclosed amount. TikTok also agreed to settle, with terms kept confidential.

Looking through family photo albums at her Colorado residence Thursday, Osterman reminisced about “the days before social media. The days before the infinite scrolling lured him in.” Pictures of Max surrounded by heart decorations and angel wings filled the shelves around her home.

Osterman described her son as academically gifted with a passion for lacrosse and wrestling. While she knew he used Snapchat to stay in touch with friends, she was unaware of the potential dangers he faced.

The drug dealer who sold the fatal pill to Max, Sergio Guerra-Carrillo, received a six-year prison sentence in 2023 on two distribution charges.

Currently, Osterman is pursuing her own wrongful death lawsuit, which is separate from the cases decided this week. She has joined Parents for Safe Online Spaces (ParentsSOS), an organization of parents who have experienced online-related child harm and push for stronger regulations.

The group supports the Kids Online Safety Act, proposed federal legislation that would mandate social media platforms take reasonable measures to prevent harm on sites likely to be used by minors.

Osterman advocates for stringent protective measures, including age verification technology to block anyone under 18 from accessing these platforms.

“You think your kids are safe in their home, in their bedroom, but that’s not the way it is with the current status of social media,” she explained.

When contacted Thursday, Snapchat did not provide immediate comment regarding Osterman’s situation. The company has previously stated it employs advanced technology to actively locate and eliminate drug dealers’ accounts while blocking search results for drug-related keywords.

While it remains uncertain whether these recent legal victories will result in significant changes, the verdicts signal an increasing readiness to hold major social media corporations accountable and demand substantial reforms. Technology oversight experts anticipate these decisions will encourage additional lawsuits and regulatory measures.