Mark Zuckerberg arrives for a court hearing in Los Angeles County Superior Court.Image: keystone
March 25, 2026, 7:17 p.mMarch 25, 2026, 7:18 p.m
A Los Angeles court has held Meta and Google liable for the psychological consequences of social media addiction for the first time. The British news channel BBC first reported the case. The jury decided that the Instagram and YouTube platforms were intentionally programmed to promote addiction and thus caused massive damage to the health of a 20-year-old plaintiff. According to the verdict, Meta bears 70 percent of the blame, while YouTube is held responsible for 30 percent of the damage.
Although Facebook founder and meta-CEO Mark Zuckerberg emphasized in the trial that minors were being protected, internal documents weighed heavily on the company. While Snap and TikTok averted the lawsuit through secret settlements, this guilty verdict now sets a groundbreaking precedent for hundreds of other lawsuits in the US. Meta has already announced that it will consider legal action against the verdict. (val)