A jury at the Los Angeles County Superior Court has found Meta Platforms and YouTube liable for contributing to social media addiction, in a closely watched case with major implications for the tech industry.
The verdict followed a lawsuit filed by a 20-year-old woman who argued that early exposure to social media platforms negatively affected her mental health and led to addictive behaviour. The jury ruled that the companies acted negligently in the design and operation of their platforms.
Court filings showed that the plaintiff accused platforms such as Instagram and Facebook—both owned by Meta—as well as YouTube, of deliberately engineering features that “rewired how our kids think, feel, and behave,” encouraging compulsive use among younger audiences.
The case initially included other major platforms like TikTok and Snap Inc., but both companies reached settlements with the plaintiff before the trial began.
The ruling comes shortly after a separate jury decision in New Mexico, where Meta was found to have violated consumer protection laws and its platforms were deemed harmful to children’s mental health. In that case, the company was fined $375 million.
Both Meta and Google have said they will appeal the latest verdict.
In a statement, Meta said, “We respectfully disagree with the verdict and will appeal.
“Teen mental health is profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app.
“We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously as every case is different, and we remain confident in our record of protecting teens online.”
José Castañeda, a spokesperson for Google, also rejected the ruling, stating, “This case misunderstands YouTube, which is a responsibly built streaming platform, not a social media site.”
The case is expected to set a precedent for future legal battles over the impact of social media on mental health, particularly among young users.
