Signal Meta and Google Ordered to Pay $3M in Social Media Addiction Lawsuit; Teen Regulation Tightens Globally

Summary

On March 25, 2026, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury found Meta and Google liable in a landmark social media addiction case brought by a 20-year-old plaintiff identified as K.G.M. (Kaley), after an eight-day deliberation following a seven-week trial. The jury awarded $3 million in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages, totaling $6 million, with Meta responsible for 70% of the amount and Google (YouTube) for 30%. TikTok and Snap, also named as defendants, had settled out of court for undisclosed sums before the verdict. The case marked the first time a jury found social media apps could be treated as defective products for being engineered to exploit the developing brains of children and teenagers, shifting legal focus from content to design. The verdict came one day after a separate New Mexico jury found Meta violated state unfair trade practices law at least 75,000 times, ordering $375 million in damages; both companies said they plan to appeal, and Google stated the ruling "misunderstands YouTube." As of March 2026, more than 235 plaintiffs were pursuing related federal multidistrict litigation, over 250 school districts had filed suits, and more than 100,000 individual arbitration claims had been submitted against Meta since late 2024.