A jury in Los Angeles has found Meta and YouTube liable for deliberately designing addictive products that harmed a young user. The verdict, reached on Wednesday after nearly nine days of deliberations, awarded the plaintiff damages of $6m, with Meta to pay 70% and YouTube the remainder.
The plaintiff, identified by the initials KGM, testified that she became addicted to YouTube at age six and Instagram at nine. She said the platforms caused her to develop depression and engage in self-harm by age 10. Her therapist later diagnosed her with body dysmorphic disorder and social phobia, which she attributes to her social media use.
KGM's lawyer, Mark Lanier, argued that the companies engineered addiction through features like infinite scroll and autoplay. 'How do you make a child never put down the phone? That's called the engineering of addiction,' he said during closing arguments.
The jury found both companies negligent and failing to provide adequate warnings. It answered in favour of the plaintiff on every question, with a 10-2 split. The verdict is the first of its kind to hold social media companies liable for harm to young people.
Meta and YouTube both said they plan to appeal. A Meta spokesperson said teen mental health is 'profoundly complex' and cannot be linked to a single app. YouTube's spokesperson said the platform is 'responsibly built' and not a social media site.
The case is the first in a consolidated group of lawsuits alleging social media harms. It follows a separate ruling in New Mexico ordering Meta to pay $375m in civil penalties for enabling child sexual exploitation.
