Social Media Giants Held Liable for Addiction

0:00On March 25, a California jury has held meta and Google liable for contributing to a 20-year-old woman's social media addiction, ordering them to pay $3 million in damages. The woman, known only as Kaylee, claimed heavy use of platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, starting in childhood, worsened her mental health. Issues. After more than 40 hours of deliberation over nine days, the jury found both companies negligent in designing their apps. The verdict pinned 70% of the blame on meta for $2.1 million, with YouTube covering the remaining 30% at nine, $100,000. Jurors ruled that the companies knew, or should have known, their services posed risks to miners, but failed to warn users properly. TikTok and Snap had settled earlier, leaving just these two defendants. Kaylee described how constant scrolling damaged her self-worth, hobbies, and friendships. Her lawyers highlighted addictive features like endless feeds and notifications aimed at

1:01young users. The tech firms countered that her problems stemmed from family issues and disputed her time spent on the apps, but the jury rejected those arguments across the board. Now the jury will review evidence of malice and deliberate punitive damages, which could increase the payout significantly. This bell-weathered trial sets a precedent amid thousands of similar lawsuits against social media giants. Those compare the scrutiny to past battles with tobacco and opioids, signaling growing pressure on these companies to prioritize child safety over.