US EditionJury finds Instagram and YouTube liable in landmark social media addiction trial
A Los Angeles jury awarded $3 million, assigning 70% liability to Meta and 30% to YouTube, for negligence in designing addictive features that harmed a young user’s mental health.
- On Wednesday, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and Google-owned YouTube negligent in designing addictive platforms, awarding plaintiff Kaley G.M. $3 million in compensatory damages—70% to Meta, 30% to YouTube—and finding the companies acted with malice.
- The bellwether trial, which began in January in Los Angeles Superior Court, examined claims that features like "infinite scroll" and autoplay were intentionally designed to hook young users, which Kaley alleged fueled her anxiety and depression.
- Internal documents revealed Meta researchers found 11-year-olds were four times more likely to return to Instagram than competing apps, though defendants argued Kaley's struggles stemmed from a turbulent childhood rather than their platforms.
- A separate proceeding will determine punitive damages after the jury found the companies acted with egregious conduct; this follows a Tuesday decision ordering Meta to pay $375 million in a similar New Mexico child safety case.
- Experts compare this 'Big Tobacco' moment to 1990s tobacco litigation, as the verdict could influence thousands of pending suits from school districts and families, signaling tech firms may increasingly face liability for platform design.
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Thunderstorming for social networks, Instagram and YouTube were recognized as responsible for the addiction of its users, this Wednesday, in a judgment that could be dated.
The Siasat Daily
The Munsif DailyMeta, YouTube found liable in US teen addiction case
Washington: A US jury has found Meta and YouTube liable in a landmark case, ruling that their platforms harmed a young user through addictive design features and failed to warn of risks to children and teens. Delivered by a Los Angeles court, the ruling marks one of the most significant legal setbacks for major social media companies in years. Jurors found Instagram’s parent Meta and Google-owned YouTube negligent for operating products that har…
The jury considered it proven that the tech companies Alphabet and Meta acted negligently in the development and did not warn of the dangers.
Jury in LA ruled that Meta and YouTube harmed a young user with design or addictive that caused her mental health problems.
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