A California jury has ordered Meta and YouTube to pay millions in damages to a 20-year-old woman, in a landmark ruling that could shape thousands of similar lawsuits against social media companies.
The plaintiff, identified as KGM, testified that she became addicted to social media at a young age, worsening her mental health struggles. After more than 40 hours of deliberation, jurors awarded $3 million in damages, later recommending an additional $3 million in punitive damages, pending final approval by the judge.
Jurors found that both companies knowingly designed features that could be harmful to minors and failed to provide adequate warnings. These included “infinite scroll,” autoplay, and constant notifications—elements the plaintiff’s legal team argued were intended to keep young users hooked.
Responsibility was split between the companies, with Meta assigned 70% of the blame and YouTube 30%, reflected in the punitive damages recommendation.
The case, led by attorney Mark Lanier, is considered a potential bellwether for thousands of pending lawsuits accusing tech companies of harming children through addictive platform design. Legal experts say the ruling could open the door to broader liability—similar to how early tobacco lawsuits led to sweeping industry consequences.
Both companies strongly disagreed with the verdict. Google, which owns YouTube, argued the decision mischaracterizes the platform, while Meta said teen mental health is too complex to be tied to a single app. Both are expected to pursue appeals.
