Tess Mata’s parents used to be passionate about social media. A 10-year-old from Uvalde, Texas wants to be famous. She used to dance, sing and mimic popular trends in videos, with mom Veronica and dad Jerry following her online habits.
But Tess was subsequently shot in 2022 at Rob Elementary School, one of which was 19 children and two teachers killed by a former student.
Since then, as details of the Sagittarius’ personal life have been revealed, Matas and a handful of other Uvalde families have begun to believe that he has been exposed to gun content online and in video games, leading to the tragedy.
Jerry and Veronica Mata stood in front of the Spring Street Courthouse in Los Angeles on July 17. The couple are suing Dun, Activision and Daniel defenses to challenge social media and video game marketing after their daughter Tess died in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and the couple are suing Dun, Activision and Daniel defenses to challenge social media and video game marketing, they say they urged shooters to commit violence.
(Yamada/Los Angeles Times)
They are now suing what they call three companies to profit from violent fantasies that lead to the death of their children. The defendants include the maker of the first-person military shooter “Call of Duty,” who said 18-year-old Salvador Ramos encountered a virtual version of the Daniel defense brand AR-15 he used in the attack. They also sued META, accusing Ramos of encountering gun ads that promote violence on Instagram.
MATAS and three other families from Uvalde will travel more than 1,200 miles this week to confront these companies in the Los Angeles County Superior Court where they filed claims for negligence, assistance, teaching betting and false death.
“They glorified these weapons. They lure young children into wanting to buy these guns, and young children are so receptive to these types of things.”
Santa Monica-based video game developer Activision has filed for dismissal, believing the First Amendment will protect the “Call of Duty” as a work of art. Meta also strives to abandon the case, pointing to good case law that protects social media platforms from liability for third-party content posted by users and advertisers.
Whether the proceeds of the case can be decided at a hearing Friday in downtown Los Angeles
Jerry Mata holds a dog-branded necklace from her daughter Tess, one of 19 students killed in 2022 at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
(Yamada/Los Angeles Times)
The families called Call of Duty one of the world’s most popular video game franchises, encouraging violence by repeatedly capturing Ramos with real-world weapons. They claimed Instagram gave him an idea of how, when and when to buy the gun he used.
“To make a better point: the defendant is chewing the estranged teenage boy and spitting out the mass shooter,” the complaint claimed.
“The mission is simulated, not a game. It teaches players how to accurately aim, reload and shoot while being used to the repetitive graphic violence caused by the teenage nervous system. Although the killing is virtual, the weapon is real,” the complaint said.
The lawsuit says Ramos chose Daniel Defense AR-15 on purpose. Small arms manufacturers have less than 1% market share, but the specific railroads displayed on the popular Call of Duty guns make it easy to identify it online despite the lack of branding inside the game.
“It was the defendant who defended Daniel directly into the Children’s House and the person in charge who wrote a script about how to peddling guns while bypassing parents and the law, and creating simulations with real-life weapons and applauding the proficiency of killing.”
Mehta did not immediately respond to the Times’ request for comment, nor did another defendant, Daniel defense lawyer in the lawsuit.
Photos of weapons of Rob Elementary Shooter next to a truck crashed before the May 24, 2022 shooting.
(Pete Luna / Uvlade Leader-News)
The court has long rejected the idea that violent video games like Call of Duty are responsible for the actions of those who are morally panicking around the issue and have also overturned efforts to restrict access to these issues by minors.
The Entertainment Software Rating Committee rated most modern Call of Duty games as a mature audience over the age of 17, but it can be offered to minors through online marketplaces that do not meaningfully verify someone’s age before purchasing.
“Any teenager who wants to download Call of Duty can do this,” Uwald’s attorney, told the New York Times.
The 2011 Supreme Court case, Brown vs. Entertainment Businessmen Association, strikes a 2005 California law prohibiting the sale of violent video games to minors. “In this country, there is no traditional restriction of children’s description of violence. For example, Green’s fairy tale is really grim.”
Despite criticism of its extreme violence, Activision has long been involved in combat simulations, sometimes involving killing other combatants (and almost never allow civilian casualties) players to kill other combatants, but sometimes involving killing other combatants, sometimes in combat simulations, sometimes in public places, sometimes in airports and cities.
“Call of Duty tells a complex story of exploring the real battle scenes faced by soldiers in modern warfare. There is no doubt that Call of Duty can be very rich in the First Amendment,” the company said in court documents.
Families who still mourn the children say challenging institutions that fail to protect them is an ongoing struggle. Veronica Mata said the new case is another chapter, like playing a giant.
A woman promoted “Call of Duty” near New York City on December 7, 2022.
(View Press/Corbis via Getty Image)
The city of Uwald approved a $2 million settlement case in May to resolve a flawed response to the shooting, and the Texas Court of Appeals ordered documents on Wednesday to release to the school board and the county.
“We can move forward, we can make changes and make them understand that what they do and what they continue to do is not benefiting them or anyone else,” Mata said.
