Will Meta and YouTube’s youth harm verdict be ‘tobacco industry moment’ for Big Tech?

It’s the landmark court decision some are calling Big Tech’s “tobacco industry moment”: a verdict that — just like the misrepresentation that cigarettes are safe — indicates social media companies may have a lot to answer for to the public. On March 25, social media giant Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, Threads, and more) and video streaming service YouTube (owned by Google) were found liable for negligence owing to design features of their products. A Los Angeles jury concluded they are intentionally addictive and led to mental distress for K.G.M., the 20-year-old woman at the center of the case. Meta must pay $4.2 million, while YouTube must pay $1.8 million, for a combined total of $6 million. Both companies signaled their intent to appeal the verdict. Popular apps TikTok and Snapchat — named in the same suit — earlier settled out of court. Meanwhile, OpenAI — an artificial intelligence research company offering services such as ChatGPT — faces copyright and data privacy litigation, with billions of dollars in potential damages and milestone implications for AI data handling. The Meta and YouTube suit alleged features such as auto-scrolling addicted the plaintiff to the platforms, leading to anxiety, depression and body image
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