Overview
- After nine days of deliberations, the Los Angeles jury on Wednesday awarded $3 million in compensatory damages and assigned 70% of the fault to Meta and 30% to YouTube.
- The plaintiff, identified as K.G.M., said she began using YouTube at age 6 and Instagram at 9, and testified that near‑constant use fueled depression, anxiety, and body‑dysmorphia symptoms.
- Jurors found negligent design and a failure to warn after seeing internal emails and executive testimony, pointing to infinite scroll, autoplay, constant notifications, and like counters as features that drive compulsive use.
- The case now moves to a punitive‑damages phase that could raise the payout, while Meta and Google say they disagree with the verdict and are preparing appeals.
- The decision comes a day after a New Mexico jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million in a separate child‑predator case, as more than 1,500 similar lawsuits across the U.S. wait for guidance from these first trials.