A jury in Los Angeles has found Meta and YouTube liable for deliberately designing addictive products that harmed a young user, a verdict that could have far-reaching implications for the tech industry. The jury awarded the plaintiff, a 20-year-old woman known as KGM, damages of $6m, with Meta to pay 70% and YouTube the remainder.
The case, which was the first of its kind to go to trial, centered on the alleged harm caused by social media to young people. KGM testified that she became addicted to YouTube at age six and Instagram at nine, which she said had deleterious effects on her wellbeing. According to The Guardian, this lawsuit was a significant milestone in the ongoing debate about the impact of social media on young people.
Over the course of the six-week trial, jurors heard from top executives at Meta and YouTube, whistleblowers, expert witnesses on social media and addiction, and KGM herself. KGM's lawyers argued that her experience was emblematic of what tens of thousands of young people have faced on social media and in their offline lives. Mark Lanier, KGM's lawyer, said during closing arguments, "How do you make a child never put down the phone? That's called the engineering of addiction. They engineered it, they put these features on the phones."
Designing Addiction
The plaintiffs' arguments mirrored those brought against big tobacco in the 1990s, which focused on cigarettes' addictive qualities and companies' public denials despite knowledge of their products' harms. They alleged that some of the features that social media companies built into their platforms, such as an infinitely scrollable feed and video autoplay, are designed to keep people on the apps and have made the products addictive.
KGM's lawyers said her experience was a classic case of addiction, which was facilitated by the design of the social media platforms. By age 10, KGM had become depressed and was engaging in self-harm as a result of her social media use. Her therapist diagnosed her with body dysmorphic disorder and social phobia when she was 13, which KGM attributes to her use of Instagram and YouTube.
Expert Analysis
Expert witnesses on social media and addiction testified during the trial, providing insight into the potential harm caused by social media. The jury was asked to consider whether the companies' negligence was a substantial factor in causing harm to KGM and if the tech firms knew the design of their products was dangerous. The 12-person panel of jurors returned a 10-2 split answering in favor of the plaintiff on every single question.
The jury's verdict comes just one day after Meta was ordered to pay $375m in civil penalties in a separate lawsuit in New Mexico. In that case, the jury found the company misled consumers about the safety of its platforms and enabled harm, including child sexual exploitation, against its users.
Response from Tech Giants
Meta has said it will appeal the rulings in Los Angeles and in New Mexico. In response to the California case's verdict, a spokesperson for Meta said the company is confident of its protection of teens online. "We respectfully disagree with the verdict … Teen mental health is profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app," the spokesperson said.
A YouTube spokesperson, José Castañeda, said the video service also disagrees with the verdict and plans to appeal. "This case misunderstands YouTube, which is a responsibly built streaming platform, not a social media site," he said. Both companies have consistently denied wrongdoing, with YouTube calling the allegations "simply not true" and Meta saying that KGM's mental health issues were brought on by a difficult home life and social media use was not to blame.
Broader Implications
This trial is the first in a consolidated group of cases brought in California against Meta, TikTok, YouTube, and Snap on behalf of more than 1,600 plaintiffs, including more than 350 families and 250 school districts. KGM's case is also the first of more than 20 "bellwether" trials, which are slated to go to court over the next couple of years and are used to gauge juries' reactions as well as set legal precedent.
The next bellwether case is scheduled to go to trial in July, and a separate series of federal lawsuits with hundreds of plaintiffs making similar allegations is slated to start trial in San Francisco in June. As the tech industry continues to evolve, the outcome of these cases will be closely watched, and could have significant implications for the way social media companies design and market their products.
