Meta Platforms and Alphabet Inc’s Google have been ordered to pay US$3 million (A$4.3 million) in compensatory damages after being found liable for designing social media platforms that harm children and teenagers.
The landmark decision that followed a six-week trial in the United States could reshape how technology companies defend user safety claims, according to media reports.
A jury in Los Angeles took almost nine days to reach its verdict on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT) but did not award punitive damages, which will be decided during the next phase of the trial, Reuters reported in this story.
The lawsuit centred on a 20-year-old woman identified in court as Kaley, who argued she became addicted to Google's business YouTube and Meta's Instagram site as a child due to features designed to maximise user engagement.
The jury found both companies negligent in the design of their platforms and concluded they failed to adequately warn users about potential harms.
“We respectfully disagree with the verdict and are evaluating our legal options,” a Meta spokesperson was quoted by Reuters as saying.
The lawsuit over social media’s alleged harm to young people was the first of its kind to go to trial.
This trial was the first of more than 20 cases in California against Meta, TikTok, YouTube and Snap on behalf of more than 1,600 plaintiffs, including families and school districts, which are scheduled to proceed in the next few years.,
The verdict came one day after Meta was ordered to pay $375 million in civil penalties in a lawsuit in New Mexico in which a jury found the company misled consumers about the safety of its platforms and enabled harm, including child sexual exploitation.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) shares closed $1.97 (0.33%) higher at $594.89, capitalising the company at $1.50 trillion, while Alphabet Class C (NASDAQ: GOOG) shares ended up 39 cents (0.13%) at $289.59, capitalising it at $3.51 trillion.
