Share A Los Angeles jury has awarded 20-year-old “Kaley” $3 million (£2.2 million) after finding Meta and Google intentionally built addictive platforms that severely harmed her mental health. The unprecedented ruling found Meta, owner of Instagram and Facebook, 70% responsible for the plaintiff’s damages, while Google’s YouTube was held 30% liable. The court is yet to determine punitive damages, which under state law could reach an additional $30 million. Kaley’s legal team argued that the tech giants designed “addiction machines,” using features such as infinite scroll to hook children. Kaley testified that she began using YouTube aged six and Instagram at nine, encountering no age-gate hurdles. By age 10, she suffered from anxiety and depression, later developing body dysmorphia after obsessing over Instagram filters that altered her facial features. The trial revealed internal documents suggesting Meta was aware of underage users despite public policies. While Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg insisted the company had reached the “right place” regarding child safety, Kaley’s lawyers presented evidence of her using Instagram for up to 16 hours in a single day – a figure Instagram head Adam Mosseri labelled “problematic” but stopped short of calling addictive. The verdict arrived just one day after a New Mexico jury found Meta liable for exposing children to predatory behaviour. Industry analysts suggest these back-to-back defeats mark a “breaking point” in the relationship between social media firms and the public. Meta and Google both expressed disagreement with the verdict and confirmed plans to appeal. A Meta spokesperson stated that teen mental health is “profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app,” while Google argued the case “misunderstands” YouTube as a social media site rather than a streaming platform. The win provides a significant legal precedent for hundreds of similar lawsuits currently pending in US courts. As parents celebrated outside the courthouse, Kaley’s lawyers declared the message “unmistakable”: no company is above accountability when it comes to the safety of children. For latest tech stories go to TechDigest.tv Share this: