Jury finds Meta and YouTube negligent in design, operation of their platforms

LOS ANGELES (KNBC) – A California jury has found Meta and YouTube negligent in the design or operation of their social media platforms.

Outside of the courtroom, families who say their children were harmed by social media embraced as they celebrated the verdict, according to a report by KNBC.

KNBC reports the civil trial centered on a lawsuit filed by a plaintiff identified by the initials KGM, who alleged Meta and YouTube “knowingly designed addictive platforms that harmed her mental health when she was a minor as well as failed to adequately warn users of the dangers of those platforms.”

TikTok and Snap, who were also named as defendants in KGM’s lawsuit, reached settlements ahead of the trial, according to KNBC.

On Wednesday, the plaintiff was awarded $3 million in compensatory damage, and the jury is expected to make a determination of punitive damages next.

The verdict follows after jurors in a separate trial in New Mexico held Meta liable for failing to protect children from online predators and sexual exploitation on Facebook and Instagram.

The New Mexico jury found on Tuesday that Meta violated the state’s Consumer Protection Laws and ordered the company to pay $375 million in civil penalties.