A Los Angeles jury awarded an unusual victory to a young teenager who sued Meta and YouTube for her childhood social media addiction. Jurors determined that Meta, which owns Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, and Google, the owner of YouTube, purposefully created addictive social media platforms that affected the 20-year-old’s mental health.
The lady, identified as Kaley, was granted $3 million (£2.2 million), a decision that is expected to have ramifications for hundreds of similar cases currently pending in US courts. Meta’s lawyers contended that, while Kaley had suffered in her life, her usage of Instagram did not cause or contribute significantly to her troubles.
Meta said, “We respectfully disagree with the verdict and are evaluating our legal options.” A Google spokeswoman stated, “We disagree with the verdict and intend to appeal.” This lawsuit misrepresents YouTube, which is a carefully developed streaming tool, not a social media site.
Jurors deemed Meta to be 70% responsible for the plaintiff’s harm, while YouTube was accountable for 30%, implying that Meta will pay the majority of Kaley’s award. The court has yet to decide on punitive damages. Under California law, this may amount to up to $30 million.
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