The New York Times (3/25, Kang, Mac, Tan) reports a Los Angeles jury found Wednesday that Meta and YouTube “harmed a young user with design features that were addictive and led to her mental health distress.” The jury found that “Meta must pay $4.2 million in combined compensatory and punitive damages, and YouTube must pay $1.8 million.” The plaintiff, a 20-year-old woman, “accused social media companies of creating products as addictive as cigarettes or digital casinos.” According to the Times, the “landmark decision…could open social media companies to more lawsuits over users’ well-being.” The finding “validates a novel legal theory that social media sites or apps can cause personal injury. It is likely to factor into similar cases expected to go to trial this year.” Wednesday’s verdict follows a similar “ruling this week by a New Mexico jury” that found “Meta liable for violating state law by failing to safeguard users of its apps from child predators.”
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— The New York Times (requires login and subscription)