Los Angeles judge rules social media addiction lawsuit against Meta, YouTube
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A Los Angeles judge on Wednesday found Meta and Google guilty in a high-profile lawsuit accusing the social networks of designing their products to make new users addicted, awarding the plaintiff $3 million in damages.
Meta was ordered to pay 70% of the damages awarded, while Google is responsible for the rest. The decision came after nine days, about 43 hours, of deliberations.
Jurors found that Instagram’s parent company Meta and Google’s YouTube acted “with malice, oppression, or fraud” meaning there will be punitive damages to be decided on top of the $3 million in compensatory damages. There will be a hearing where all sides have 20 minutes to speak to assess punitive damages.
“We respectfully disagree with the decision and are reviewing our legal options,” said a Meta spokesperson shortly after the decision.
JILLIAN MICHAELS: BIG TECH IS BUILDING DIGITAL MEDICINE — AND OUR KIDS ARE BEING CAREFUL
| A ticker | Security | Finally | Change | change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| META | META PLATFORMS INC. | 592.92 | -11.14 |
-1.84% |
| GOOG | Company ALPHABET INC. | 289.20 | -9.82 |
-3.28% |
The case centered on a 20-year-old California woman identified as KGM, who claimed that social media encouraged drug use at a young age and contributed to depression and suicidal thoughts.
His lawsuit alleges that many major platform companies have designed their products in a way that encourages compulsive use by young people.
Supporters of “KGM” stand with signs outside the Los Angeles Superior Court during a social media trial on whether the sites were intentionally created to be addictive to children in Los Angeles, Feb. 25, 2026. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP Via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The companies have denied wrongdoing and said their services include safety tools and parental controls.
TikTok and Snap, Snapchat’s parent company, were initially named as defendants but stayed out of the case, leaving Google-owned Meta and YouTube as the remaining companies in the case.
The judges listened to almost a month of arguments from lawyers, evidence and testimony, as well as the KGM itself. He said he started using YouTube at age 6 and Instagram at age 9 and told the judge he was on social media “all day” when he was younger.
Its advocates have noted certain design features that they say are designed to “hook” younger users, such as the “endless” nature of the feed that allows for an endless supply of content, auto-play features, and even notifications.
The landmark case was widely viewed as the first to examine before a jury what social media companies can be. who is charged by law for alleged injuries related to youth use of its platforms.
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Jurors were asked to decide whether Meta or YouTube should have known their platforms were dangerous to children, whether the companies were negligent in designing their products, and if so, whether their services were a “significant factor” in causing the plaintiff’s mental health problems.
On Monday, jurors asked the judge how to move forward amid difficulties in reaching a verdict with one of the two defendants. Given their previous instructions, the judge told them to read the details aloud before being sent back for further deliberations.
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg leaves court after appearing in court in a landmark lawsuit accusing Meta and Google’s YouTube of harming the minds of children through addictive platforms, in Los Angeles, Feb. 18, 2026. (REUTERS Photos/Mike Blake/Reuters)
The decision came a day after a New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $375 million after finding the company misled users about the safety of its platforms and allegedly allowed child sexual exploitation.
FOX Business’ Kelly Saberi and Kristen Holowka, and The Associated Press, contributed to this report.
