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Meta and Google were found negligent in social media addiction trial in Los Angeles on Wednesday, potentially setting the stage for dozens of similar lawsuits that have been brought against Big Tech companies.
The case centered on a 20-year-old woman, identified as KGM, who said her use of social media from a young age was detrimental to her mental health and accused the companies of knowingly engineering their products to addict kids.After nine days of deliberation, the jury found Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, and Google, which owns YouTube, negligent. In a 10-to-2 vote, the jury also ruled that the two companies knew their design was "dangerous" but failed to warn the plaintiffs. The jury awarded the plaintiff $3 million in compensatory damages and will proceed to punitive damages, which could increase the amount of money owed. "We respectfully disagree with the verdict and are evaluating our legal options," a Meta spokesperson said. Representatives for Google didn't immediately return a request for comment. The trial in Los Angeles state court has been viewed as a bellwether, offering a key test of how juries may see similar personal injury lawsuits brought by over 2,000 individuals. Meta has said potential damages in certain cases could reach into the "high tens of billions of dollars."TikTok and Snapchat were also defendants, but settled the lawsuit before the trial began.Meta executives testified at the trial last month, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri, drawing large crowds of media and concerned parents, including some involved in other social media addiction lawsuits.The companies have argued that plaintiffs' struggles are due to myriad reasons and can't necessarily be linked to social media.During Meta's closing argument at the Los Angeles trial, Paul Schmidt, one of the company's attorneys, said the plaintiff needed to prove that if Instagram were taken away from KGM, her "life would be meaningfully different.""The evidence has shown just the opposite," Schmidt said.In January, Meta warned investors that its mounting legal battles related to youth safety could "significantly impact" its 2026 financial results. Attorneys for more than 100,000 individual arbitration claimants have "sent mass arbitration demands relating to 'social media addiction'" since late 2024, the company said in a 2026 10-K, specifically noting the case in Los Angeles, as well as a separate case in New Mexico.The New Mexico case, which occurred at the same time as the Los Angeles trial, addressed different legal and technical issues.On Tuesday, a jury in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay $375 million after a verdict came down in the state's lawsuit against the company about sexual exploitation.Meta said it would appeal the case.
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