Meta and YouTube Found Negligent in Landmark Social Media Addiction Case : Shared by Tom McDermott

Within the space of two days this week, US juries in two separate states delivered verdicts that together mark a watershed in the legal protection of children from social media harm. The New Mexico jury's $375 million ruling against Meta was followed within 24 hours by a California jury finding both Meta and Google's YouTube negligent.  With TikTok and Snap having already settled out of court, all four of the dominant social media platforms consumed by children now face legal accountability in the United States — a precedent with implications far beyond these cases.  Potentially hundreds more such cases may now go forward seeking huge settlements or fines against social media.  Tom

By Cecilia Kang, Ryan Mac and Eli Tan

The New York Times

25 March 2026

Click here for the article

This verdict, delivered the day after Meta's loss in the New Mexico jury's $375 million ruling reported earlier, means that within 24 hours two US juries have held social media companies legally accountable for harm to children.

Summary

A California Superior Court jury has found Meta and YouTube negligent in designing addictive platforms that caused mental health harm to a young user identified as K.G.M., now 20, who began using social media at age 6. The jury awarded $3 million in compensatory damages, with Meta responsible for 70 per cent and YouTube for the remainder. Punitive damages remain under deliberation.

The case, known as a bellwether trial, was brought by Kaley, who alleged that features including infinite scroll, algorithmic recommendations, and auto-play video caused anxiety, depression, and body dysmorphia. TikTok and Snap settled before trial for undisclosed amounts. Meta and YouTube said they would appeal.

Legal experts noted the verdict validates a novel theory of personal injury liability against social media platforms, drawing comparisons to litigation against Big Tobacco in the last century. Eight further individual plaintiff cases are scheduled to be heard in the same California court, with federal cases brought by states and school districts due for jury trial this summer.

During the five-week trial, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri testified and rejected claims that Instagram was clinically addictive. Internal company documents shown to the jury indicated that executives had discussed the negative effects of their products on children.

Quotes

"This is the first time in history a jury has heard testimony by executives and seen internal documents that we believe prove these companies chose profits over children." — Joseph VanZandt, attorney for K.G.M.

"There is a long road ahead, but this decision is quite significant. If there are a series of verdicts for plaintiffs, it will force the defendants to reconsider how they design social media platforms and how they deliver content to minors." — Clay Calvert, American Enterprise Institute

"We respectfully disagree with the verdict and are evaluating our legal options." — Meta spokeswoman

"This case misunderstands YouTube, which is a responsibly built streaming platform, not a social media site." — José Castañeda, Google spokesman

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