Meta And YouTube’s Loss In Social Media Addiction Lawsuit Hailed As ‘Big Tobacco Moment’

Meta and YouTube were found liable in a young woman’s social media addiction lawsuit—a decision one advocate called Big Tech’s “Big Tobacco moment.”

Parents and advocacy groups pushing for stricter social media rules are celebrating a landmark ruling that found Meta and YouTube liable in a young woman’s lawsuit over her childhood social media addiction.

On March 25, Meta and YouTube were found liable for intentionally designing addictive features that keep young users engaged at the expense of their well-being, CNN reports. The plaintiff, identified as Kaley (KGM), said compulsive use of the platforms led to anxiety, body dysmorphia, and suicidal thoughts.

“For the parents whose children died as a result of social media harms, today’s verdict is a huge step toward truth, justice, and accountability,” said Sarah Gardner, the CEO of Heat Initiative, a group that says it exists to “turn up the heat on Big Tech.”

Gardner sees the verdict as “social media’s Big Tobacco moment,” she added. “The harm these companies intentionally cause children has been proven in a court of law.”

Jurors found that Meta—which owns Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp—and Google, the parent of YouTube, deliberately designed addictive platforms that harmed the 20-year-old plaintiff’s mental health. Both companies say they have invested heavily in youth safety tools and dispute claims that their platforms are responsible for teen mental health issues, adding they plan to appeal.

Meta said “teen mental health is profoundly complex and cannot be tied to a single app,” while a Google spokesperson argued the case mischaracterizes YouTube as social media rather than a responsibly built streaming platform.

The plaintiff was awarded $6 million in damages, $3 million in compensatory damages, and another $3 million in punitive damages, finding that Meta and Google acted with “malice, oppression, or fraud” in how they ran their platforms. Meta is expected to cover 70% of the award, with Google responsible for the remaining 30%.

Advocates say the decision could influence hundreds of similar cases moving through U.S. courts. The Los Angeles verdict came a day after a New Mexico jury also found Meta liable for exposing children to harmful content, including sexually explicit material and contact with predators. Another case against Meta and other social media companies over alleged harm to minors is set to begin in June in federal court in California.