Landmark verdict holds Meta and Google liable for addictive by design social media apps

Jury A jury found Meta and Google liable, after a seven-week trial at Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Jury award The jury awarded a total of $6 million to the plaintiff $3 million to the plaintiff, $2.1 million against Meta, $900,000 against Google.

Lawsuit The lawsuit alleged social media platforms were designed to cause addiction, plaintiff said she began using YouTube at six and Instagram at nine and experienced mental health harms.

Snapchat and TikTok settled with the plaintiff before trial, representatives from both companies attended the verdict in court.

Meta and Google said they will appeal the decision, both companies intend to challenge the LA court verdict.