A jury in Los Angeles has found Meta and YouTube liable for deliberately designing addictive products that harmed a young user, awarding $6 million in damages. The jury ruled that both companies were negligent and failed to provide adequate warnings about the potential dangers of their platforms. Meta will pay 70% of the damages, with YouTube covering the remainder.
The case, the first of its kind to go to trial over social media's alleged harm to young people, centred on a 20-year-old woman identified as KGM. She testified that she became addicted to YouTube at age six and Instagram at nine, leading to depression, self-harm, and strained relationships. By age 13, she was diagnosed with body dysmorphic disorder and social phobia, which she attributes to her social media use.
KGM's lawyer, Mark Lanier, argued that features such as infinite scroll and autoplay were engineered to keep children hooked, comparing them to Trojan horses. The jury deliberated for nearly nine days before returning a 10-2 verdict in favour of the plaintiff on all questions. The verdict comes a day after Meta was ordered to pay $375 million in a separate New Mexico case over child safety.
Both companies have announced plans to appeal. A Meta spokesperson said the company disagrees with the verdict, stating that teen mental health is complex and cannot be linked to a single app. YouTube's spokesperson, José Castañeda, said the platform is a responsibly built streaming service, not a social media site, and also plans to appeal.
