By Blessing Nweke
A jury in Los Angeles has delivered a groundbreaking verdict against Meta and Google, ruling that their platforms contributed to a young woman’s childhood addiction to social media and harmed her mental health.
The plaintiff, a 20- year- old identified only as Kaley, was awarded $6 million (£4.5 million) in damages after jurors found the companies intentionally designed addictive features on platforms such as Instagram and YouTube. The jury concluded the firms acted with “malice, oppression, or fraud,” awarding $3 million in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages.
Under the ruling, Meta will cover 70% of the damages, while Google will pay the remaining 30%. Both companies have said they will appeal, disputing the findings. Meta argued that teen mental health is complex and cannot be attributed to a single platform, while Google maintained that YouTube is not a social media service but a responsibly managed video platform.
The verdict follows a separate ruling in New Mexico, where Meta was found liable for exposing children to harmful content and potential predators. Analysts say the back-to-back decisions signal growing public frustration with social media companies.
During the trial, Mark Zuckerberg defended Meta’s policies, including its rule barring users under 13. However, internal documents suggested younger users were still accessing its platforms.
Outside the courthouse, parents and advocates celebrated the decision, calling it a turning point. Experts believe the case could influence hundreds of similar lawsuits and accelerate global efforts to regulate children’s use of social media.
Original article
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