Google and Meta lose bid to dismiss youth social media addiction lawsuit
Kyiv • UNN
A California court has ordered Google and Meta to face litigation over youth addiction, potentially involving $6 million in claims. The companies will be held accountable for the harmful design of their platforms.
A California court has denied motions by Google and Meta for a new trial in a case where they were found liable for creating social media features that foster addiction among youth. This was reported by Reuters, according to UNN.
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Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl upheld the jury's verdict, which had previously found the companies negligent and awarded the plaintiff $6 million in damages.
The lawsuit was filed by a woman who claimed she became addicted to Instagram and YouTube at a young age due to their design features.
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The court rejected the companies' arguments for protection under Section 230 of the U.S. Communications Decency Act, which typically immunizes online platforms from liability for user-generated content.
The judge noted that the case concerns design decisions of the platforms rather than the content itself.
There was substantial evidence that the plaintiff was harmed by Instagram's design features, independent of any content found on that platform
Meta stated that they disagree with the verdict and plan to appeal it.
The plaintiffs' legal theory improperly attempts to bypass Section 230 and the First Amendment, and we expect this decision to be overturned on appeal
Google also announced its intention to file an appeal.
The plaintiff's attorney, Mark Lanier, called the court's decision expected.
The evidence of guilt was incredibly high