The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have welcomed a landmark US court ruling that found Meta and Google liable for a woman’s childhood social media addiction, calling it a “reckoning” for the tech industry. A jury in Los Angeles on Wednesday concluded that the companies deliberately designed their platforms to hook young users without regard for their wellbeing.
The case, brought by a 20-year-old woman who argued that her addiction to social media as a child exacerbated her mental health problems, could influence thousands of similar lawsuits. The jury recommended damages of $6 million (£4.4 million) to the plaintiff, though both Meta and Google said they would appeal.
In a statement, the Duke and Duchess said the verdict marked a turning point. “For too long, families have paid the price for platforms built with total disregard for the children they reach,” they said. “Let this be the change – where our children’s safety is finally prioritised above profit.”
Meta responded by arguing that “teen mental health is profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app”, while Google claimed the verdict misunderstood YouTube, which it described as “a responsibly built streaming platform”. Snapchat and TikTok, also named in the lawsuit, settled before the trial began.
The couple have long campaigned on online safety. In October, Prince Harry criticised the “lawlessness” of the industry, and the Archewell Foundation has launched a Parents’ Network to support families affected by online harm.
