Mar. 28 at 3:58 PM
Meta and YouTube Found Liable in Social Media Addiction Trial
A California jury found Meta and YouTube liable for addicting a young woman, Kaley, and harming her mental health. The companies were deemed negligent in platform design, aware of the risks, failed to warn users, and caused substantial harm.
The jury assigned 70% of responsibility to Meta and 30% to YouTube, ordering
$3 million in compensatory damages, plus
$2.1 million in punitive damages for Meta and
$900,000 for YouTube. Meta and YouTube plan to appeal.
Kaley’s case is the first of over 1,500 similar lawsuits and may guide future trials, potentially exposing the tech giants to billions in damages and forcing platform changes. Internal documents revealed the companies prioritized engagement over child safety, including controversial “beauty” filters.
$META $GOOGL