Historic social medial addiction ruling against Meta, Google could open legal floodgates | Latest Tech News
A historic ruling discovering Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta and YouTube mother or father Google liable for fueling teen social media addiction could open the floodgates for an unprecedented legal crackdown on Big Tech, critics told The Post.
Following 9 days of deliberations, a Los Angeles jury ruled Wednesday in favor of a 20-year-old lady identified only as “KGM,” who said apps like Facebook and Instagram wrecked her mental health after she grew to become addicted to them as a teen.
The lady was awarded $3 million in compensatory damages and another $3 million in punitive damages, with Meta paying 70% and Google, 30%.
Meta and YouTube have been discovered liable for inflicting hurt in a historic jury resolution. AFP via Getty Images
Critics say the bombshell verdict could be just the start of a pricey headache for Meta and Google, which still face 1000’s of pending lawsuits across federal and state courts that could outcome in more penalties — as effectively as pending laws on Capitol Hill, such as the Kids Online Safety Act — which might rein in their habits.
“The era of Big Tech invincibility is over – this ruling is an earthquake that shakes Big Tech’s predatory business model to its core,” said Sacha Haworth, government director of the Tech Oversight Project, an online security watchdog.
“These products were purposefully designed to harm, addict millions of young people, and lead to lifelong mental health consequences,” Haworth added.
The legal protect that has long protected social media companies from hurt is now “gone,” said Jonathan Haidt, a Big Tech critic and host of the best-seller “The Anxious Generation.”
“They will be treated like any industry that knowingly harms children and lies about it,” he wrote on X. “History will judge them as harshly as the tobacco industry.”
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), a frequent critic of Big Tech, called the verdict “a monumental victory for parents, children, families, and survivors.”
Mark Zuckerberg testified during the LA social media trial. AFP via Getty Images
“Now that Big Tech has been found liable for the harms they have pushed on our kids, it’s time for Congress to enshrine protections for American families into law by passing the Kids Online Safety Act,” she added.
That laws would ban focused promoting to minors and data assortment without their consent, among other steps.
In its Wednesday verdict, the LA jury discovered that Meta and Google acted with malice or extremely egregious conduct.
The crux of KGM’s case targeted on the notion that the social media apps have been deliberately designed to be addictive while implementing options like an “infinite scroll” and video autoplay.
The intently watched trial featured testimony from Zuckerberg and Instagram chief Adam Mosseri. As The Post solely reported, Meta tried to block KGM’s attorneys from asking Zuckerberg about his huge $231 billion fortune on the witness stand.
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri leaves the Los Angeles County Superior Court after testifying in a social media trial in Los Angeles on February 9, 2026. AFP via Getty Images
Both Google and Meta said they disagreed with the verdict and would appeal.
“Teen mental health is profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app,” a Meta spokesperson said in a assertion. “We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously as every case is different, and we remain confident in our record of protecting teens online.”
“This case misunderstands YouTube, which is a responsibly built streaming platform, not a social media site,” a Google spokesperson said.
This summer season, Meta and Google will likely be back in a California federal court as half of a difficult federal multidistrict litigation – a course of meant to consolidate more than 2,000 pending lawsuits against the social media companies that make comparable allegations.
A gaggle of college districts from around the nation have a trial date in June, while a coalition of state attorneys basic will get their day in court in August.
Critics say the ruling could be just the start of a legal crackdown on social media companies. REUTERS
“This verdict sends an unmistakable message that no company is above accountability when it comes to our children,” attorneys for the college districts said in a assertion on the KGM case.
The LA verdict was announced just in the future after Meta misplaced a separate case in New Mexico, which state prosecutors accused Zuckerberg’s firm of exposing youngsters to online intercourse creeps and failing to adequately warn dad and mom about security dangers related with social media use.
Meta was slapped with a $375 million penalty in that case for violating state law.
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