In what legal experts are already calling a defining moment for the tech industry, a Los Angeles jury on Wednesday found Meta and Google liable for the mental health harm suffered by a young woman who said she became addicted to their social media platforms as a child. The jury awarded the plaintiff $3 million in compensatory damages, holding Meta responsible for 70% of the harm and YouTube owned by Google accountable for the remaining 30%.
The verdict arrived after nine days of deliberations spanning roughly 43 hours. It is the first time a jury has returned a finding of this kind against social media companies, and the fallout is expected to reach far beyond this single courtroom.
Who is the plaintiff?
The case centered on a now 20-year-old California woman identified as K.G.M. referred to throughout the trial by her legal team as Kaley who alleged that social media platforms encouraged compulsive use during her childhood and contributed to depression and suicidal thoughts.
Kaley told jurors she began using YouTube at age 6 and Instagram at age 9, and that she was on social media throughout the day as a child. While Google, as YouTube’s parent company, was also a defendant, the bulk of the trial’s proceedings focused on Instagram and Meta. Her attorneys argued that both platforms were deliberately engineered to maximize engagement in ways that were particularly harmful to developing minds.
Meta and Google pushed back throughout the trial, maintaining that Kaley’s mental health struggles were rooted in a difficult childhood and that social media was not a meaningful contributor to her condition. Both companies denied wrongdoing and pointed to existing safety tools and parental controls as evidence of their commitment to user wellbeing.
What the jury decided
Jurors found that Meta’s and YouTube’s negligence were a substantial factor in the harm the plaintiff experienced, and that the companies failed to adequately warn users about the dangers of their respective platforms. The verdict was not unanimous 10 out of 12 jurors responded affirmatively for both Meta and YouTube on the verdict forms, though only 9 of 12 were required for a liable finding.
The financial exposure for both companies does not stop at $3 million. The jury determined that the companies acted with malice or highly egregious conduct, meaning jurors will reconvene to hear additional evidence and decide on punitive damages a figure that could grow considerably.
Snap and TikTok were also originally named as defendants in the case, but both companies reached undisclosed settlements with Kaley before the trial began.
A Big Tobacco moment for tech
Experts have characterized this trial as the social media industry’s Big Tobacco moment, drawing comparisons to the 1990s, when tobacco companies were forced to pay billions after being exposed for concealing the dangers of their products.
The verdict marks the conclusion of the first-ever jury trial over whether tech giants should be held accountable for social media addiction, and it may now shape the outcome of roughly 2,000 other pending lawsuits. Those cases have been brought by parents and school districts across the country who argue that social media platforms should be treated as manufacturers of defective products.
Zuckerberg took the stand
Jurors heard from Meta leaders Mark Zuckerberg and Adam Mosseri during the trial, while YouTube’s CEO Neal Mohan was not called to testify. Zuckerberg’s appearance marked the first time he had ever testified before a jury. He relied heavily on Meta’s longstanding policy of prohibiting users under 13 on its platforms, while also acknowledging that underage users had in fact been active on its apps.
The verdict comes amid a wave of legal pressure
The Los Angeles ruling landed just one day after another significant loss for Meta. A separate jury in New Mexico ordered the company to pay $375 million in damages for failing to protect young users from child predators on Instagram and Facebook. The New Mexico jury found Meta liable on all counts, including willfully engaging in unfair and deceptive trade practices.
Both verdicts arrive as school districts and state lawmakers across the country move to limit or ban phones in schools, reflecting a growing public and institutional consensus that the social media industry has not done enough to protect young users. Both Meta and Google are expected to appeal the Los Angeles verdict.
