Meta, Google found liable in landmark social media addiction trial

Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this story misstated the amount of damages due to an editing error. The correct total is $6 million.

A jury has found Meta and Google liable for $6 million in damages on March 25 in a landmark trial over allegations that their popular social media apps, including Instagram and YouTube, are designed to get children addicted.

The companies were ordered to pay $3 million in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages, with Meta responsible for 70% of the total and Google for 30%, according to Reuters.

The Los Angeles case centers on a 20-year-old woman, identified as Kaley G.M., who said she became addicted to Google's YouTube and Meta's Instagram at a young age.

The jury found Google and Meta were negligent in the design of both apps and failed to warn about their dangers.

"Today’s verdict is a referendum – from a jury, to an entire industry – that accountability has arrived," the plaintiff's lead counsel said in a statement, according to Reuters.

Meta disagrees with the verdict and its lawyers are "evaluating our legal options," a company spokesperson said. Google did not have an immediate comment.

What was the case about?

Kaley G.M. alleged in the case that she became addicted to social media apps as a teenager because of their attention-grabbing design, in turn worsening her mental health, according to court filings.

The trial began with opening statements on Feb. 9 in Los Angeles Superior Court and went on for more than a month.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in court on Feb. 18, where he faced questions about Facebook and Instagram's age restrictions and safety measures. He said the platforms don't allow users under the age of 13 to sign up for accounts, despite lawyers for the plaintiff presenting evidence suggesting otherwise, Reuters reported.

The case is one of thousands of similar lawsuits that have been brought against social media companies, according to Reuters. But only a small number of the lawsuits, including Kaley G.M.'s, are going to trial this year as test cases, known as "bellwether" trials.

Clay Calvert, nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told Dana Taylor of USA TODAY's The Excerpt that if the jury sides with the plaintiff in this case, the verdict "could open the floodgates to more litigation."

"The question really is, what caused the harm that [Kaley G.M.] says she's suffering? Is it the content of the videos and the posts that she has seen and watched on social media platforms? Or is it defects, alleged defects in the design of the platforms themselves?" Calvert said.

Google, Meta denied allegations

José Castañeda, a spokesperson for Google, previously said in a statement to USA TODAY that "the allegations in these complaints are simply not true."

"Providing young people with a safer, healthier experience has always been core to our work. In collaboration with youth, mental health and parenting experts, we built services and policies to provide young people with age-appropriate experiences, and parents with robust controls," Castañeda said.

Meta also previously cited its privacy protections for teens in a statement to USA TODAY.

"We strongly disagree with these allegations and are confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people. For over a decade, we’ve listened to parents, worked with experts and law enforcement, and conducted in-depth research to understand the issues that matter most," the company said.

Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, and TikTok were initially named in the lawsuit, but each settled with the plaintiff before the trial began, according to Reuters.

(This story has been updated with new information.)

Contributing: Reuters