Meta and YouTube found negligent in social media addiction trial

Jurors in California found Wednesday that Meta and Google negligently failed to warn users that their social media platforms were addictive. At the heart of the lengthy trial was a woman, Kaley, who claimed she became addicted to Meta's Instagram and Google's YouTube as a child and was harmedby the companies' efforts to keep users glued to their screens.

Kaley's lawyers, in a statement, said that "Today's verdict is a historic moment — for Kaley and for the thousands of children and families who have been waiting for this day. She showed extraordinary courage bringing this case and telling her story in open court. A jury of Kaley's peers heard the evidence, heard what Meta and YouTube knew and when they knew it, and held them accountable for their conduct."

At issue were the algorithms, autoplay and notification features that identify what media to play, play it without being prompted to by the user, and bug them to return to the app. Kaley suffered "severe body dysmorphia, depression and suicidal thoughts" as a result, she claimed, and the jury agreed.

Meta "respectfully disagrees" with the verdict; Google has yet to comment. TikTok and Snap, also sued, agreed to settlements early in the case to avoid the trial.

It's one of several trials taking place this year that experts have characterized as the social media industry's "Big Tobacco" moment, comparing it the 1990s, when tobacco companies were forced to pay billions of dollars for lying to the public about the safety and potential harms of their products.

Yesterday, jurors in New Mexico found Meta liable for enabling child exploitation and assessed a $375m fine.

In the California case, the damages were assessed at $3m, with Meta on the hook for $2.1m and YouTube the rest. Here's a good insight into the mentality that got these companies to this point: Meta comms guy Andy Stone boasted about the low size of the fine. It's the thing they care about, the finding of harm being completely meaningless to them. But punitive damages are yet to be assessed; the $3m represents Kaley's compensation.

Mark's ride-or-die comms bro is tweeting through it — because having a jury find you've endangered the mental health of millions isn't a big deal apparently if it doesn't impact your bottom line.

— dell cameron (@dell.bsky.social) 2026-03-25T17:52:55.940Z