A Los Angeles court has ordered Meta and Google to pay a total of $6 million in fines. Meta is responsible for the lion’s share, approximately $4.2 million.
The case stems from a lawsuit filed by a 20-year-old woman who claims she became addicted to Instagram and YouTube at a young age, which she says negatively impacted her life. She suffers from depression and anxiety, exacerbated by the constant scrolling.
The court found that Meta and Google deliberately designed their apps to be addictive without warning users of the risks. “Today’s verdict is a referendum — from a jury, to an entire industry — that accountability has arrived,” the woman’s lawyer said in a statement commenting on the court’s decision via Reuters.
It could lead to apps of this nature coming with warnings when users download and install them; however, as is typical for this kind of case, Meta and Google disagree with the result and will appeal.
Google, for example, argued that YouTube, as a video platform, should not even be classified as social media.
Further legal proceedings are underway
Snapchat and TikTok apps were originally part of the case, but these companies opted for a settlement before the trial began.
Parallel legal proceedings are also ongoing against the tech giants, including for inadequate safeguards for minors on social media. In one of these cases, Meta was ordered to pay $375 million.
This article originally appeared on our sister publication PC-WELT and was translated and adapted from German.