Jury finds Meta and Google liable for US$3 million damages in social media addiction trial

Lawyer Laura Marquez-Garrett, third from right, with family members of victims after a jury found Meta and YouTube liable in a social media addiction trial, outside the Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday.

Photo: AFP A Los Angeles jury found Alphabet’s Google and Meta liable for US$3 million in damages on Wednesday in a landmark social media addiction lawsuit.

The ‌outcome could influence thousands of similar cases against the tech companies brought by parents, attorneys general and school districts.

At least half of American teenagers use YouTube or Instagram daily, according to the Pew Research Centre.

The Los Angeles case involves a 20-year-old woman who said she became addicted to the apps at a young age because of their attention-grabbing design.

The plaintiffs in the Los Angeles proceeding focused on platform design rather than content, making it harder for ⁠the companies to avert liability.

Snap and TikTok were also defendants in the trial.

Both settled with the plaintiff before it ‌began.

Terms of the agreements were not disclosed.

Shares of Meta Platforms were up 1 per cent and Alphabet slightly higher after the verdict, little changed on the news.

A Meta spokesperson said: “We respectfully disagree with ‌the verdict and are evaluating our legal options.” Google did not have an immediate comment.

Large technology companies ⁠in the United States have ⁠faced mounting criticism in the past decade over child and teenager safety.

The debate has now shifted to courts and state governments.

The US Congress has declined ‌to pass comprehensive legislation regulating social media.

The Meta logo on a smartphone screen and the firm’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Photo: Shutterstock At least 20 states enacted laws last year on social media usage and children, according to the non-partisan National Conference of State ‌Legislatures, an ‌organisation that tracks state laws.

The legislation includes bills that regulate the use of cellphones in schools and require users ‌to verify their ages to open a social media account.

NetChoice, a trade association backed by tech companies such as Meta ⁠and Google, is seeking to invalidate age verification requirements in court.

A separate social media addiction case brought by several states and ⁠school districts against technology companies is expected to go to trial this summer in federal court in Oakland, California.

Another state trial is scheduled to begin in Los Angeles in July, said Matthew Bergman, one

原文链接: 南华早报