In a significant victory for social media harm litigation, the Los Angeles Superior Court has denied Meta Platforms and Google’s post-trial motions to overturn the landmark K.G.M. verdict, the first social media addiction case in the United States to reach a jury, leaving intact a $6 million award—$3 million in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages—against the tech giants for their allegedly negligent design choices. Judge Carolyn Kuhl’s decision affirmed that Instagram’s design features were a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff’s harms, that Meta failed to provide adequate warnings to minor users about the platform’s addictive risks, and that the company’s operation of Instagram demonstrated a willful and conscious disregard for child safety; similarly, the court found substantial evidence that YouTube prioritized profits over user safety. The ruling represents a watershed moment in holding social media companies accountable, effectively undermining Section 230‘s protections for tech platforms when executives deliberately design harmful, addiction-promoting features, and as the Social Media Victims Law Center argues, it mirrors the “Big Tobacco moment” where internal industry knowledge of harm finally faces legal consequences—a development that signals a seismic shift in how courts interpret liability law and opens the door for a wave of similar cases challenging tech companies’ product design practices that endanger young users. Read the full press release from the Social Media Victims Law Center for additional details on the court’s findings and implications for future social media litigation.
Laura Marquez-Garrett, an attorney representing clients of the Social Media Victims Law Center, stands with family members and other plaintiffs outside the Los Angeles courthouse following the jury’s historic decision holding Meta and YouTube accountable for social media addiction harms, marking a pivotal moment in the March 25, 2026 proceedings. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)
