A Los Angeles jury has delivered a significant verdict against Meta and Google, finding that their platforms contributed to a young woman’s childhood addiction to social media and harmed her mental health. The case, brought by a 20-year-old identified as Kaley, is being seen as a potential turning point for similar lawsuits in the United States.
Jury Finds Platforms ‘Intentionally Addictive’
Jurors concluded that Meta, which owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, and Google, the parent company of YouTube, “intentionally built addictive social media platforms” that negatively impacted Kaley’s mental health.
The jury awarded Kaley $6m (£4.5m) in damages, including $3m in compensatory damages and $3m in punitive damages. The latter was granted after jurors determined the companies “acted with malice, oppression, or fraud”.
Meta is expected to bear 70% of the damages, while Google will cover the remaining 30%.
Companies Push Back, Plan Appeal
Both companies have rejected the verdict and indicated plans to challenge it.
Meta said: “Teen mental health is profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app. We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously as every case is different, and we remain confident in our record of protecting teens online.”
A Google spokesperson said: “This case misunderstands YouTube, which is a responsibly built streaming platform, not a social media site.”
Plaintiff’s Claims And Testimony
Kaley told the court she began using YouTube at the age of six and Instagram at nine, encountering no effective age restrictions.
“I stopped engaging with family because I was spending all my time on social media,” she said.
She described developing anxiety and depression by the age of 10, conditions later diagnosed by a therapist. Kaley also spoke about body image issues, saying she became preoccupied with her appearance and used filters that altered her facial features.
She has since been diagnosed with body dysmorphia.
Her lawyers argued that features such as infinite scroll were designed to be addictive and that Meta’s growth strategy targeted young users who were more likely to remain engaged for long periods.
Debate Over Platform Responsibility
During the trial, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg pointed to the company’s policy barring users under 13. When presented with internal documents suggesting younger users were still accessing the platforms, he said he “always wished” for faster progress in identifying underage users and maintained the company had reached the “right place over time”.
Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, rejected claims that extended usage indicated addiction, describing a teenager spending most of the day on the platform as “problematic”.
Wider Legal And Public Reaction
The verdict comes amid growing scrutiny of social media companies. A separate jury in New Mexico recently found Meta liable for exposing children to sexually explicit content and predators.
Mike Proulx, a research director at Forrester, said the consecutive rulings reflect a “breaking point” in public sentiment.
“Negative sentiment toward social media has been building for years, and now it’s finally boiled over,” he said.
Parents and campaigners outside the courthouse welcomed the decision, calling it a moment of accountability. Ellen Roome, who is suing TikTok following her son’s death, described it as an “enough was enough” moment, asking: “How many more children are going to be harmed and potentially die from these platforms?”
Policy Pressure Mounts Globally
Governments are also weighing stricter controls. Australia has introduced restrictions on children’s social media use, while the UK is testing a potential ban for under-16s.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the current situation was “not good enough” and stressed that change was inevitable: “It’s not if things are going to change, things are going to change. The question is, how much and what are we going to do?”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex called the verdict a “reckoning”, saying, “Let this be the change – where our children’s safety is finally prioritised above profit.”
Settlements And Broader Implications
Snap and TikTok were initially named in the lawsuit but reached undisclosed settlements with Kaley before the trial.
With hundreds of similar cases underway in US courts, the verdict is expected to have far-reaching implications for how social media companies design and regulate their platforms.
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