Meta, Google Ordered to Pay $6M in Addiction Lawsuit
Meta and Google have been ordered to pay a combined $6 million after a Los Angeles jury found the companies negligent in a landmark case over social media addiction and youth mental health. The case was brought by a now-20-year-old plaintiff identified as Kaley G.M., who said she became addicted to Instagram and YouTube at a young age and later struggled with depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.
Jurors found that both companies used attention-grabbing design features, including infinite scroll, autoplay, and notifications, in ways that substantially contributed to her harm. According to Reuters and the Associated Press, the jury assigned 70 percent of the responsibility to Meta and 30 percent to Google, with damages split accordingly. The verdict is being viewed as a major legal test case because it focuses on platform design, not user-posted content, which could make it harder for tech companies to rely on Section 230 protections.
Other tech companies were involved in the broader lawsuit too. TikTok and Snapchat were originally named as defendants, but both companies settled before the trial began, leaving Meta and Google to face the jury. The case is considered a bellwether trial for thousands of similar lawsuits pending across the country over claims that social media companies knowingly built addictive products for young users.
The ruling also comes just one day after Meta was separately hit with a $375 million verdict in New Mexico in another youth safety case, adding to mounting legal pressure on Big Tech. Both Meta and Google have said they plan to appeal, but the decision still marks a major moment in the growing fight over whether tech companies can be held responsible for how their products are designed.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed for accuracy.
