A California jury has ordered Meta and YouTube to pay $6 million (€5.1 million) to a 20-year-old woman who testified that social media addiction worsened her mental health struggles. The plaintiff, identified by her initials KGM, told the court she spent up to 16 hours a day on Meta platforms and YouTube as a child, a habit she said contributed to long-term psychological issues. The jury agreed with the 20-year-old plaintiff, who testified at trial that she became addicted to social media as a child and that this addiction exacerbated her mental health struggles.
After six weeks of testimony and 40 hours of deliberation, jurors awarded $3 million (€2.54 million) in compensatory damages. They recommended an additional $3 million in punitive damages, citing evidence that the companies acted with malice, oppression, or fraud in designing platforms that targeted children. A judge will determine the final award.
One juror told reporters that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony did not “sit well” with the panel. The jury said the damages were intended not only to compensate KGM but also to signal that such design practices are unacceptable.
Jurors found Meta more responsible for the harm, assigning it 70 percent of the damages, with YouTube responsible for the remaining 30 percent. They concluded that both companies were negligent in designing their platforms, failed to provide adequate warnings, and knew the risks posed to minors.
KGM’s legal team highlighted platform features like “infinite scroll” and autoplay videos, which keep users engaged for hours. Google and Meta disputed the claims. YouTube argued that its service is more akin to television than social media and said KGM’s use declined with age. Meta said teen mental health is “profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app” and that her struggles stemmed from a turbulent home life. Both companies pointed to existing safety features that allow users to manage their engagement.
Experts say the ruling could influence thousands of similar cases nationwide. Sarah Kreps, a professor at Cornell University, said, “Once you have this type of verdict in one case, it just opens the floodgates for so much more.” Peter Ormerod, a law professor at Villanova University, called it “a momentous development” but cautioned that significant platform changes are unlikely until appeals are resolved and other test cases are completed.
The verdict comes just a week after a New Mexico jury fined Meta $375 million (€317 million) for engaging in “unconscionable” trade practices that harmed children and concealed information about sexual exploitation. More than 40 state attorneys general have filed lawsuits against Meta, arguing that Instagram and Facebook deliberately designed addictive features that contribute to a youth mental health crisis.
The California case is considered a bellwether trial, setting a precedent for future litigation against social media companies over child addiction and mental health impacts.
