Meta and Alphabet Found Liable in Landmark Social Media Addiction Case

A California Jury Awards $3m in Damages to Plaintiff in Landmark Social Media Addiction Lawsuit

A Los Angeles-based jury has found Alphabet’s Google and Meta liable for $3m in damages in a landmark social media addiction lawsuit. The verdict was handed down after over 40 hours of deliberation across nine days.

The plaintiff, identified as KGM or Kaley, was awarded the damages in the case. Kaley testified that she became addicted to social media at a young age, which exacerbated her mental health issues. She began using YouTube at age six and Meta-owned Instagram at age nine.

Kaley’s legal team alleged that Google and Meta used designed features intended to hook young users, including notifications and autoplay features. The jury was instructed not to consider the content of the posts and videos Kaley saw on the platforms, as tech companies are shielded from legal responsibility for user-posted content under Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act.

Jurors heard testimony from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri. YouTube chief executive Neal Mohan was not called to testify. The plaintiff’s lawyers stated that the verdict is a historic moment, but did not provide further comment.

Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said that the company disagrees with the verdict and plans to appeal. Meta did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment. Snap and TikTok were previously named in the suit but settled with the plaintiff for undisclosed terms before the trial began.

This verdict is part of a wave of lawsuits targeting social media companies, including a federal social media addiction case slated to begin in June in Oakland, California. A New Mexico jury recently found that Meta violated state law by misleading users about the safety of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

Source: Al Jazeera