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A jury in a landmark verdict found Meta and YouTube negligent for designing addictive social media platforms that harmed a child.
Why it’s important: It is the first time major social media companies have been found liable by a U.S. jury for creating addictive products.
- The trial is a bellwether for hundreds of similar cases brought by more than 1,600 plaintiffs.
The details: Jurors decided in favor of the plaintiff, a now 20-year-old woman, concluding that potent design features of platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook fueled her nonstop use as a teen, exacerbating depression and suicidal ideation.
- The jury decided that Meta and YouTube owe the plaintiff $3 million in damages, with Meta assigned 70% of the responsibility and YouTube the rest.
- What’s coming: Jurors also found that Meta and YouTube should pay punitive damages. But the specific amount they owe, and whether the companies will be ordered to redesign certain parts of their platforms, will be determined in the next phase of the trial.
Meanwhile: Another jury in New Mexico determined that Meta knowingly harmed children’s mental health. They sided with state prosecutors, who argued that Meta prioritized profits over safety and violated parts of the state’s Unfair Practices Act.
- They determined a penalty of $375 million. It will be up to a judge to determine whether Meta’s platforms created a public nuisance and whether the company should pay for public programs to address the harms.
Published
April 2026