Yesterday, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and Google liable for the harm caused to Kaley — a 20-year-old who started using YouTube when she was 6-years-old and Instagram when she was 11. She developed depression, anxiety, and body dysmorphia. The jury awarded USD $6 million in damages, finding that both companies’ platform design (note: not the content) was a substantial factor in causing her harm.1,2,3
This ruling is a significant verdict in this current age of social media. But is this significance something to be really joyful about? Will this change the fundamental way that we engage with social media from now on? Will this verdict on “addiction” lead to “withdrawal” symptoms in our younger generations? Guess only time will tell.
I have to say here that responsibility needs to go in many directions.
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- Dong S, Yang A. Jury finds Meta and YouTube negligent in landmark lawsuit on social media safety. NBC News. 26 Mar 2026. Available at: https://archive.fo/V3iPB.[↩]
- Kerr D. Meta and YouTube designed addictive products that harmed young people, jury finds. The Guardian. 25 Mar 2026. Available at: https://archive.ph/qsQnJ.[↩]
- Chmielewski D, ROzen C, Godoy J. Meta, Google lose US case over social media harm to kids. Reuters. 26 Mar 2026. Available at: https://archive.ph/7OG9l.[↩]