A California jury has held Meta and Google liable for contributing to a woman’s social media addiction, ordering them to pay $3 million in damages in a groundbreaking case.
Case Details and Plaintiff Background
The plaintiff, a 20-year-old woman identified as K.G.M. or Kaley, began using YouTube at age six via an iPod Touch app to view videos on lip gloss and kids’ games. She accessed Instagram at nine, bypassing her mother’s restrictions. Jurors determined that both companies acted negligently in designing and operating their platforms, with this negligence playing a substantial role in her addiction and worsening mental health issues during childhood.
Lawyer Hails Verdict as Turning Point
Matthew Bergman, founding attorney at the Social Media Victims Law Center representing numerous plaintiffs in ongoing cases, described the ruling as “Big Tech’s tobacco moment.” He called it a critical tipping point to force changes in tech giants’ practices.
“This is how you get their attention,” Bergman stated. “They don’t seem to care how many bad expose articles have come out in the press. They don’t care. The one thing they seem to care about is money. So this is how we change their behavior.”
Bergman noted thousands of similar cases are filed, pressuring companies to weigh litigation costs against implementing safer designs. “We’re hopeful that as we increase the litigation pressure, the platforms will start taking larger steps toward making their platforms safer,” he added.
Tribute to Molly Russell
Bergman dedicated the victory to Ian Russell, whose 14-year-old daughter Molly died by suicide after exposure to harmful online AI content. “I keep thinking of Molly Russell, and she really started this,” he said. “Her father, Ian, really started this across the pond in the UK. That was the first time that a social media company had ever been called to account for causing such a terrible outcome.”
“I feel Molly must be smiling right now,” Bergman continued, contrasting Kaley’s survival with many tragic outcomes.
Jury Findings and Upcoming Punitive Damages
After over 40 hours of deliberation spanning nine days, jurors found both companies knew or should have known their services endangered minors, failed to warn users adequately, and acted with malice or egregious conduct. Meta bears 70% responsibility ($2.1 million), while YouTube accounts for 30% ($900,000). Punitive damages will follow additional deliberations.
The ruling follows a New Mexico jury’s $375 million penalty against Meta for harming children’s mental health and concealing child exploitation risks.
Whistleblowers and Industry Accountability
Bergman praised internal whistleblowers who warned executives about addictive designs targeting youth, only to be ignored for profit. “What we’ve seen in the documents… is that within Meta, within YouTube, there are people of conscience that have reached out multiple times to C-suite and said ‘Look what we’re doing to kids,'” he explained. These revelations now threaten stock prices and profitability, potentially driving reforms.
The jury disregarded post content due to Section 230 protections under the 1996 Communications Decency Act.
Responses and Next Steps
Google stated: “We disagree with the verdict and plan to appeal. This case misunderstands YouTube, which is a responsibly built streaming platform, not a social media site.” Meta has not yet commented.
Bergman emphasized the win’s gravity, noting Kaley’s relief despite her privacy ordeal. “She’s very happy… There’s no amount of money that would compensate. She lost her childhood,” he said. Both companies intend to appeal.
