A jury in Los Angeles, USA, has ruled that social media platforms were deliberately designed to promote addictive use and harm children. The decision comes after the now 20-year-old plaintiff, identified as Kaley, accused the tech giants of fueling her childhood addiction to social media.
According to a BBC report, the jury found that Meta – the parent company of Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp – and Google, which owns YouTube, “acted with malice, oppression or fraud” in operating their platforms.
The court awarded Kaley a total of $6 million (£4.5 million) in damages, including $3 million in compensatory damages and a further $3 million in punitive damages. Meta will bear 70% of the fine, while Google will pay the remaining 30%.
However, the tech giants disagreed with the verdict and said they would “continue to vigorously defend themselves”.
Meta argued that mental health cannot be blamed on a single app. “We will continue to vigorously defend ourselves because every case is different, and we remain confident in our record of protecting minors online.”
“It has been proven unsafe”
A Google spokesperson told the BBC: “This case misunderstands YouTube, which is a responsibly built streaming platform, not a social media site.
Activists, however, described the verdict as a turning point. Ellen Roome, who is taking legal action against TikTok following her son’s death, called it a “enough is enough” moment.
“How many more children will be injured and potentially die on these platforms?” she was quoted by the BBC.
“It’s been shown to be unsafe – and social media companies need to fix it.”
There were scenes of relief and celebration outside the courthouse, where the families of other children who claimed they were harmed by social media gathered during the five-week trial.
The Los Angeles ruling follows a New Mexico ruling that found Meta liable for exposing children to sexually explicit material and risks from online predators.
Mike Proulx, director of research at consultancy Forrester, said the back-to-back decisions signaled a “tipping point” in public confidence.
“The negative sentiment towards social media has been building up for years and now it’s finally bubbling over,” he said.
Several countries, including Australia, have already introduced restrictions aimed at limiting children’s access to social media, while the UK is piloting measures to assess a potential ban on users under 16.
