Walker Montgomery was just 16 when someone pretending to be a teenage girl messaged him through Instagram and seduced him into cybersex.

Within hours he was dead. Caught up in a sextortion scheme, the Mississippi teen killed himse

NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

His father, Brian Montgomery, will never get over losing his son but he was among many parents celebrating this week as social media giant Meta lost two court cases where juries in different states ruled the platforms hook young users without concern for their well being.

Montgomery sees it as a reckoning.

“We’re talking about the most financially sound business that the planet has ever known. This will set an expectation,” said Montgomery on Wednesday after juries in New Mexico and Los Angeles found social media providers failed to protect young users.

Other parents agree: There have been too few safeguards, and kids are suffering.

Verdicts show shift in public’s perception

The first blow came Tuesday when jurors in New Mexico sided with state prosecutors who argued that Meta — which owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp — prioritized profits over safety and imposed a $375 million penalty.

Then on Wednesday, jurors in a separate case in Los Angeles found that Meta and Google-owned YouTube designed their platforms to hook young users without concern for their well being. The companies issued statements vowing to explore their legal options, which includes appeals.

The verdicts illustrate a growing shift in the public’s perception of social media companies and their responsibilities in keeping young people safe on their platforms.

Montgomery, not a plaintiff in either case, said the next step is legislation. “They’ve proven,” he said of the social media industry,” that they can’t regulate themselves.”