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A jury found Meta and YouTube liable for designing addictive platform features that contributed to harm to a young user. Photo: iStock
A Los Angeles jury today found YouTube and Meta liable for intentionally designing addictive features into their products that contributed to a young user’s mental distress. The jury awarded $3 million in damages for pain and suffering; it’s still deliberating whether to impose punitive damages tied to malice or fraud.
At the center of the case is a 20-year-old plaintiff who alleges she was harmed while still a minor. Her case is widely seen as a test of how thousands of similar lawsuits could unfold, making this outcome far more consequential than a single dispute.
The verdict comes on the heels of a decision yesterday by a New Mexico jury in a case brought by the state’s attorney general. That jury found that Meta violated state law by failing to adequately protect young users of its apps from child predators.
When these cases first emerged, they raised a fundamental question: Would courts actually hold tech companies accountable for harm to kids? With two juries weighing in this week, that answer is starting to come into focus: We are indeed at a tipping point in the battle to protect our kids from harmful tech.
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