Los Angeles jury holds YouTube, Meta liable for woman’s social media addiction

International

A LOS ANGELES jury has handed down an unprecedented win for a young woman who sued Meta and YouTube over her childhood addiction to social media.

Jurors found that Meta, which owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, and Google, owner of YouTube, intentionally built addictive social media platforms that harmed the 20-year-old's mental health.

The woman, known as Kaley, was awarded $6 million in damages, a result likely to have implications for hundreds of similar cases now winding their way through US courts, a report by BBC said.

Meta and Google said separately that they disagreed with the verdict and would both appeal. Meta stated that teen mental health is profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app, adding that it would continue to defend itself vigorously.

A Google spokesperson argued that the case misunderstood YouTube, which is a responsibly built streaming platform, not a social media site.

Jurors determined Kaley should receive $3 million in compensatory damages and an additional $3 million in punitive damages, concluding that Meta and Google acted with malice, oppression, or fraud in how their platforms were operated. Meta will shoulder 70% of the award, with Google covering the remaining 30%.

Outside the courthouse, parents of other children who claimed harm from social media celebrated the verdict, sharing hugs and tears after a five-week trial. The LA decision followed a similar ruling in New Mexico, where Meta was found liable for exposing children to sexually explicit material and potential predators.

Experts say these consecutive verdicts highlight a breaking point between social media companies and the public. Countries like Australia have already introduced restrictions on children's social media use, while the UK is piloting a ban for users under 16.

During the trial, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended the company's policy of restricting users under 13, despite internal documents showing children were actively using its platforms.

Kaley began using Instagram at age nine and YouTube at six, experiencing no age-related blocks. She testified that her social media use led to anxiety, depression, and body dysmorphia, fueled by addictive features such as infinite scroll and appearance-altering filters.

Her lawyers argued that Meta and YouTube deliberately designed platforms to encourage prolonged use by young users, maximizing engagement and retention. Instagram head Adam Mosseri dismissed claims of addiction, calling extended usage “problematic” rather than proof of dependency.

Kaley’s legal team stated that the jury's verdict sends a strong message that no company is above accountability when it comes to protecting children.(Georgia Olivar, USJ-R Comm Intern)