Prince tells privacy summit of ‘harrowing stories’ of how use of tech giants’ platforms led to ‘grave and irreversible harm’

I never thought I’d be posting a Prince Harry story in Technology, but it’s 2026, and all bets are off.

The Duke of Sussex has welcomed two landmark lawsuits against major tech companies, declaring: “Finally, some truth and accountability has arrived.”

In a speech in Washington DC to the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) global summit on privacy, AI governance and cybersecurity law, Prince Harry said he had done a “deep dive into the tech-fuelled world in which my children – all our children – are growing up”.

He spoke of “harrowing stories” of how time spent on the big tech companies’ platforms had led to “grave and irreversible harm”.

Referring to the two cases last week, in which a New Mexico jury ordered Meta to pay $375m (£280m) in civil penalties and a Los Angeles jury ordered Meta and YouTube to pay $6m damages to a 20-year-old woman, Harry said: “About bloody time!”