A Los Angeles jury found Wednesday that Meta and Youtube are liable for negligence in having knowingly designed addictive and harmful products. The platforms were found to have deliberately targeted children, which led to significant harm against the plaintiff. The judge awarded $3 million in damages for the plaintiff, and additional punitive damages to be decided at a later date. Snapchat and TikTok were also named in the lawsuit but settled out of court in December.
The trial involved renowned social media executives such as Mark Zuckerberg and Adam Mosseri, as well as expert witnesses and company whistleblowers. The plaintiff began using social media sites as a young child and subsequently developed depression, body dysmorphia, and other debilitating psychiatric conditions. Social media companies argued that the plaintiff suffered from mental health issues unrelated to her social media use. However, the court reviewed internal sources from within the social media companies indicating they were aware of the addictive effects of their platforms and the disproportionate harm caused to children, and were negligent in their lack of effort to address these issues. The plaintiff’s lawyers called the decision a “historic moment” for the thousands of children and families suffering from the addictive and harmful effects of social media.
This is the one of the first cases to be decided in a broader set of “bellwether” trials set to settle case law and establish legal precedent around liability stemming from the harm of social media over the next few years. Additional lawsuits involving hundreds of plaintiffs on similar grounds will go to trial in San Francisco in June.
Meta has said it disagrees with the outcome of the trail and will evaluate its legal options. Youtube has yet to comment on the outcome but has previously denied any wrongdoing.
Earlier this week, Meta lost a separate lawsuit in New Mexico over misleading users about child safety and facilitating the sexual abuse of children. The lawsuit was initiated by the Attorney General of New Mexico and awarded the state $375 million for violating the state’s Unfair Practices Act.
This is the latest development in a global drive to mediate the harmful effects of social media through the law. Australia, Indonesia, California, Spain, the EU and others have all invoked a form of legal action against social media companies, typically on the grounds of its disproportionate harm to children. This drive has garnered some controversy and received pushback both from social media companies and advocacy groups, who raise concerns over reedom of expression and potentially overbroad responses to mitigate the dangers.
