Posted on 03/25/2026 11:43:51 AM PDT by Libloather
A Los Angeles jury found Wednesday that Meta’s Instagram and Google’s YouTube harmed a young user with features designed to hook kids — in a bombshell verdict that “shakes Big Tech’s predatory business model to its core.”
The high-profile case involved a 20-year-old woman who claimed she became dangerously obsessed with the apps at a young age because they were deliberately built to be addictive, using features like infinite scroll and autoplay.
The tech giants were found liable for $3 million in damages. The multi-million-dollar judgment is likely to grow, as the jury of seven women and five men will continue to deliberate on punitive damages the companies should pay for acting with malice.
The bellwether outcome could now influence thousands of similar cases against the two most powerful tech companies — and their peers — brought by parents, states and school districts.
At least half of American teens use YouTube or Instagram daily, according to the Pew Research Center.
Snap and TikTok were also defendants in the first-of-its-kind trial, however, both settled with the plaintiff before it began.
The verdict is an “earthquake that shakes Big Tech’s predatory business model to its core,” according to Sacha Haworth, executive director of the online safety watchdog Tech Oversight Project.
“This trial was proof that if you put CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg on the stand before a judge and jury of their peers, the tech industry’s wanton disregard for people will be on full display,” Haworth said in a statement.
The plaintiff, only known as K.G.M., said she started using social media apps at just 6 years old, and her addiction fueled depression, anxiety and severe mental health struggles, including body dysmorphia and thoughts of self-harm.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Sue social media out of existence.
Getting closer -
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