LOS ANGELES—A Los Angeles jury on Wednesday found Meta and Google’s YouTube liable for negligence in designing addictive features on their social media platforms, awarding $3 million in compensatory damages to a 20-year-old woman who said she became hooked as a child. The case now moves to the potential punitive-damages phase, the jury’s initial award focused on compensatory damages.
The verdict marked the first major win for plaintiffs in a wave of lawsuits accusing social media companies of fueling a youth mental health crisis through features such as infinite scroll and algorithm-driven recommendations. Jurors determined that Meta, owner of Instagram, bears 70% of the liability and YouTube 30%. The companies must pay the plaintiff, identified in court as K.G.M. or Kaley, a total of $3 million for pain and suffering and related harms.
Kaley testified that she began using YouTube at age 6 and Instagram at age 9. She told jurors the platforms’ addictive design contributed to anxiety, depression and body dysmorphia. The roughly two-month trial featured testimony from addiction experts, therapists, platform engineers and company executives, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Meta and Google had argued their products were not designed to addict children and that they include parental controls and safety features. Attorneys for the companies said they design apps to help users connect with friends and family. The jury rejected those defenses after more than 40 hours of deliberations over nine days.
The case was the first bellwether trial — a test case expected to guide resolution of similar claims — in a massive consolidated litigation. Snap and TikTok settled with the plaintiff before trial. Thousands more lawsuits remain pending nationwide.
As of early March 2026, the federal multidistrict litigation in Northern California, known as MDL 3047, included more than 2,400 pending individual personal-injury cases alleging harm from social media addiction. That figure does not include nearly 800 lawsuits filed by school districts or actions brought by attorneys general from more than 40 states.
Legal analysts described the verdict as a watershed moment that could reshape how tech companies are held accountable for youth mental health harms.
“This is indeed a landmark, first-of-its-kind trial that is attempting to assign liability to social media for causing addictive behaviors,” said Or Cohen-Sasson, a University of Miami technology law lecturer and director of the Miami Law & AI Lab. “If the result favors the plaintiff, many others will be able to sue and get damages.”
Other experts said the outcome signals “blood in the water” for Big Tech and may accelerate settlements or platform changes across the industry, much like past litigation against tobacco companies.
University of Pittsburgh marketing professor Vanitha Swaminathan called the trial an “important tension” between platforms and vulnerable young users. She said companies “have to address the concerns of this important segment.”
Plaintiffs’ attorneys hailed the decision as validation of long-standing claims that companies knowingly engineered products to keep children engaged at the expense of their well-being. Defense lawyers indicated they would consider appeals or other post-trial motions.
The verdict comes amid growing public and scientific concern over youth social media use. Peer-reviewed studies have linked heavy platform engagement to increased risks of anxiety, depression and other mental health issues in adolescents.
According to 2022 Pew Research, 95% of adolescents 13-17 have a smartphone, with 46% saying they use social media “almost constantly.”
It is well-established that cell phone/internet addiction can lead to depression, anxiety, insomnia, poor academic performance, and higher levels of stress. Multiple studies have even found that teenagers who spend more hours on their cell phones/personal devices are significantly more at risk of suicide.
A bipartisan bill, SB 5346, sponsored by Sen. Marko Liias (D-Edmonds), aiming to limit student cellphone use in the classroom was signed into law on Wednesday.
An August 12, 2024, National Education Association survey revealed that 90% of NEA members would support a school policy prohibiting cell phone/personal devices during instructional time. The study also found that 83% would support prohibiting cell phone/personal device use during the entire school day, with exceptions for things like medical or assistive-technology needs.
Liias’ intends to lay the groundwork to help school districts find the best approach for restricting student cellphone use in ways that work best for their schools.
The new law clarifies that school boards have the authority to adopt policies and procedures that limit student cellphone use, and it encourages school boards to review OSPI’s recommendations during this process. It will also have OSPI make information available online that includes research on student use of mobile devices and best practices for teaching students how to use them responsibly.
Although legislation in establishing protocols to limit smartphone use in the classroom made headway, multiple bills since 2025 to shield minors from smartphone/social media addiction outside of the classroom have stalled:
- SB 6111, introduced by Sen. Jesse Salomon (D-Shoreline)
- SB 5708, introduced by Sen. Noel Frame (D-Seattle)
- HB 1834, introduced by Rep. Lisa Callan (D-Issaquah)
All of these bills target “addictive” internet-based services and social media platforms with a mix of age gates, content and notification restrictions, user controls, data safeguards, and enforcement tools. Key provisions in the bills include:
- Age verification & minor identification
- Parental consent requirement
- Ban on addictive feeds for minors
- Strict limits on push notifications outside of established timeframes
- User-control mechanisms for everyone
- Data & privacy restrictions
- Penalties to social media platform violators
Author: Mario Lotmore
