Google and Meta found liable in Los Angeles social media addiction lawsuit over YouTube and Instagram design

A Los Angeles jury has found tech giants Google and Meta liable in a landmark lawsuit over social media addiction, a decision expected to shape thousands of similar cases targeting the design of major online platforms.

The jury awarded $US3 million ($A4.3 million) in damages to the plaintiff, ruling that both companies were negligent in how their products were built and failed to adequately warn users about potential harms.

Meta will be responsible for 70 per cent of the damages, while Google will cover the remaining 30 per cent. A decision on potential punitive damages is still to come.

The case centred on a 20-year-old woman who alleged she became addicted to YouTube and Instagram from a young age due to features designed to keep users engaged for long periods.

Jurors found the companies’ platform design contributed to harm, marking a significant legal test of whether social media products themselves — rather than the content posted on them — can expose tech companies to liability.

“Today’s verdict is a referendum - from a jury, to an entire industry - that accountability has arrived,” the plaintiff’s lead counsel said in a statement.

Shares in Meta rose 1.0 per cent following the decision, while Alphabet, Google’s parent company, edged up 0.2 per cent, suggesting investors do not yet expect widespread financial fallout.

Both companies signalled they would challenge the ruling.

Meta said it disagreed with the verdict and is “evaluating our legal options,” while Google confirmed it plans to appeal, with spokesman José Castañeda saying the company would contest the decision.

Snap and TikTok were also named as defendants in the proceedings but reached settlements with the plaintiff before the trial began. The terms of those agreements were not disclosed.

The lawsuit forms part of a growing wave of legal action examining whether social media companies should be held responsible for the way their platforms are engineered, including features designed to capture user attention.

Large technology companies in the United States have faced increasing scrutiny over child and teen safety over the past decade, with lawmakers and regulators debating how to limit potential harms linked to excessive screen time and online engagement.

While the US Congress has yet to pass comprehensive legislation regulating social media platforms, individual states have introduced a range of measures targeting youth usage.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, at least 20 US states passed laws last year relating to social media and children, including proposals requiring age verification and restricting mobile phone use in schools.

Industry group NetChoice, backed by major technology companies including Meta and Google, is currently challenging some of those laws in court.

Further legal battles are already underway.

Another social media addiction case brought by several US states and school districts is expected to go to trial later this year in federal court in Oakland, California.

A separate state trial involving Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat is scheduled to begin in Los Angeles in July, according to Matthew Bergman, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs.

In a separate case, a New Mexico jury this week found Meta violated state law in a lawsuit brought by the attorney general, who accused the company of misleading users about the safety of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, as well as enabling child sexual exploitation on its platforms.

The latest verdict signals mounting legal pressure on major technology companies as courts increasingly examine the role platform design plays in shaping user behaviour.

With Reuters