technology
Jury finds Meta and YouTube addictive to children
A Los Angeles jury ordered Meta and YouTube to pay $6 million after a 20-year-old plaintiff said the platforms were designed to be addictive and harmed her mental health, with liability split 70 percent to Meta and 30 percent to YouTube.
Apr 2nd 2026 ยท United States
Insights
- A Los Angeles jury awarded $6 million to a 20-year-old plaintiff who said platform design caused depression and body dysmorphia.
- Meta was assigned 70 percent of the financial responsibility and YouTube 30 percent.
- Half of the award will compensate the plaintiff and half is punitive damages to punish the companies.
- The lawsuit, filed in 2022, says the plaintiff used YouTube from age six and Instagram from age nine and once spent 16 hours on Instagram.
- TikTok and Snapchat settled out of court, while Google plans to appeal and Meta is evaluating its options.
- The verdict could affect thousands of similar cases and spur changes in regulation and platform safety measures.
Sources
- A jury says Meta and Google hurt a kid. What now? www.theverge.com
- What's next for Meta in the wake of trial losses and layoffs? www.npr.org
- Judge Allows BitTorrent Seeding Claims Against Meta, Despite Lawyers 'Lame Excuses' yro.slashdot.org
- Landmark case finds Meta, YouTube addictive to children www.siliconrepublic.com
- Meta ordered to pay $375m after losing child safety lawsuit www.siliconrepublic.com
- US jury finds Meta and Google liable in social media addiction trial www.dawn.com
- China moves to regulate digital humans, bans addictive services for children www.straitstimes.com
- China moves to regulate digital humans, bans addictive services for children www.channelnewsasia.com