Digital addiction costs $6 million: Girl defeats Meta and Google in landmark case

 

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Digital addiction costs $6 million: Girl defeats Meta and Google in landmark case

A Los Angeles jury on Wednesday concluded that Meta and Google acted negligently in designing social media platforms that harm young people, in a $6 million verdict that serves as an important indicator for many similar cases.

The jury found Meta liable for $4.2 million in damages, while Google was ordered to pay $1.8 million – sums that are considered small for two of the world’s most valuable companies, whose annual capital expenditure exceeds $100 billion each.

The $6 million in compensation will be paid to a 20-year-old woman in a lawsuit she filed against the two companies, accusing Meta's Instagram and Google's YouTube platforms of causing her addiction.

This ruling sets a precedent that threatens social media platforms, as the jury found the two companies guilty of designing digital products that promote addiction.
The jury concluded that Meta and Google also failed to warn of the risks of their platforms.

The trial, held in Los Angeles, is intended to serve as a benchmark case—a test case—for the thousands of similar lawsuits filed in California state courts.
The importance of the case lies in the fact that it opens the door to thousands of similar lawsuits against social media companies, placing them in the same category as major tobacco companies in terms of escalating legal accountability.

Spokespeople for both Meta and Google said they disagree with the ruling and intend to appeal.
US law provides social media companies with strong liability protection for content posted on their platforms, but the plaintiffs in the Los Angeles lawsuit focused on the platform's design rather than the content.

Gil Luria, a technology sector analyst at investment firm D.A. Davidson, described the ruling as a "setback" for Meta and Google.
He said: "This process is likely to extend through future lawsuits and appeals, but it may ultimately push these companies to put in place consumer protection measures that could slow the pace of growth."
Snap and TikTok were among the defendants in the trial. They reached a settlement with the plaintiff before the trial began, but the terms of the agreements were not disclosed.