A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury found Meta and YouTube liable on all counts March 25 in the first U.S. civil case to hold social media companies accountable for addictive platform design, awarding plaintiff K.G.M. $6 million in total damages.
The jury, voting 10-2, split the award into $3 million in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages, assigning Meta 70% of responsibility and YouTube the remaining 30%.
Jurors concluded that features including infinite scroll, algorithmic recommendations, and beauty filters constituted a design defect that foreseeably contributed to K.G.M.’s depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia, and suicidal ideation. K.G.M. testified that she began using Instagram and YouTube as young as age 6.
The case was structured as a product liability action rather than a content moderation dispute. That framing sidesteps Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the federal provision that has long shielded internet platforms from liability for user-generated content.
The distinction could determine how courts evaluate more than 1,600 pending cases filed by families, school districts, and state attorneys general against the same companies.
Both companies said they plan to appeal. “We respectfully disagree with the verdict,” a Meta spokesperson said. “Teen mental health is profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app.” Google spokesperson José Castañeda said the case “misunderstands YouTube, which is a responsibly built streaming platform, not a social media site.”
Matt Bergman, founding attorney of the Social Media Victims Law Center, said the verdict “establishes a framework for how similar cases across the country will be evaluated and demonstrates that juries are willing to hold technology companies accountable when the evidence shows foreseeable harm.”
Snap and TikTok, also named as defendants, settled on confidential terms before trial. Federal proceedings involving more than 235 plaintiffs are scheduled to begin as early as June 2026. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the state “looks forward to holding Meta accountable in our own upcoming August trial in the Bay Area.”
The Los Angeles verdict came one day after a New Mexico jury found Meta liable for violating state consumer protection laws, ordering the company to pay $375 million in civil penalties.
