Tech giants Meta and Google were both found liable for a woman’s social media addiction in what was being called a landmark lawsuit.
Reuters said the case heard in Los Angeles was bought by a 20-year-old woman who became addicted to social media when she was younger because of its attention-grabbing design.
The jury said that the platforms harmed her with features that were addictive and hurt her mental health, The New York Times reported.
The companies have to pay $3 million in compensatory damages for pain and suffering. Meta has to pay 70% and YouTube, which is owned by Google, is responsible for 30%, the Times reported.
Meta spokesperson released a statement which read, “We respectfully disagree with the verdict and are evaluating our legal options,” Reuters reported.
The penalty is expected to be more, according to The Associated Press, because the jury will have to determine if the companies acted with “malice, or highly egregious conduct,” which could lead to punitive damages.
The case was among thousands filed against not only Meta and YouTube, but also TikTok and Snap and will likely play a part in future cases.
TikTok and Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, settled with the woman, identified as KGM in court documents or Kaley during the trial, before the trial began, the Times reported.
The jury came to its decision after a month of testimony from the woman, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, and Adam Mosseri. YouTube CEO Neal Mohan was not called to testify, the AP reported.
Deliberations lasted a week before the jury reached its verdict, which came a day after a jury in New Mexico found that Meta did not protect users from child predators. Meta was given a $375 million penalty in that case.
Check back for more on this developing story.
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