A landmark ruling has been delivered against tech giants Meta Platforms and YouTube, after a jury at the Los Angeles County Superior Court found both companies liable for contributing to social media addiction.
The verdict followed a lawsuit filed by a 20-year-old woman who claimed that early exposure to social media platforms worsened her mental health and led to addictive behaviour. The jury agreed, ruling that the companies acted negligently in the design and operation of their platforms.
Court filings revealed that the case targeted platforms like Instagram and Facebook, both owned by Meta, as well as YouTube. The plaintiffs argued that these platforms were deliberately designed to encourage compulsive use, especially among young users, by shaping how they think, feel, and behave.
The lawsuit initially included other major players such as TikTok and Snap Inc., but both companies reportedly settled with the plaintiff before the trial began.
The ruling comes shortly after another case in New Mexico, where a separate jury found Meta in violation of consumer protection laws over the impact of its platforms on children’s mental health, imposing a $375 million fine.
Together, these cases signal increasing legal
