A Los Angeles jury has found Meta and Google liable in a closely watched lawsuit filed by a 20-year-old woman. She said she became addicted to social media as a child and that it harmed her mental health. According to Reuters, the jury awarded $3 million in compensatory damages.
The jury assigned 70% of the blame to Meta and 30% to YouTube, which is owned by Google. Reuters and The Associated Press said jurors found both companies negligent in how they designed and ran their platforms. Jurors also said the companies failed to give adequate warnings about the risks.
The case was heard in Los Angeles. It focused on claims that the companies built products with attention-grabbing features that contributed to the plaintiff’s addiction when she was young. During the trial, Meta argued that the woman had real struggles but said Instagram did not cause or meaningfully contribute to them, Reuters reported.
Meta said after the verdict that it disagrees with the decision and is reviewing its legal options. “We respectfully disagree with the verdict and are evaluating our legal options,” a Meta spokesperson said, according to Reuters.
The financial penalty could still rise. AP reported that the verdict opens the way for punitive damages. That means the case is not fully over.
TikTok and Snap settled with the plaintiff before trial. That left Meta and Google to face the jury’s decision.
The verdict followed about a month of testimony. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri both testified. AP reported that YouTube CEO Neal Mohan did not testify. The jury deliberated for about a week before reaching its decision.
Jurors deliberated for about a week before reaching a decision. The verdict came a day after a separate New Mexico jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million in a case involving child safety and deceptive practices.
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