Daijiworld Media Network - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, Jul 11: Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has appealed the verdict in a landmark social media addiction lawsuit in Los Angeles, challenging a jury's finding that the company deliberately designed its platforms to keep young users hooked without adequate regard for their well-being.
Lawyers representing Meta filed a notice of appeal on Tuesday in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. The company is expected to present its legal arguments in subsequent court filings as the appeals process moves forward.
The case centred on a 20-year-old woman, identified in court only by her initials KGM and her first name, Kaley, who alleged that she became addicted to social media as a child and that the addiction worsened her mental health problems.
The jury found that negligence by both Meta and Google-owned YouTube, which was also named as a defendant, was a substantial factor in causing harm to Kaley.
The jury awarded her USD 3 million in compensatory damages and recommended an additional USD 3 million in punitive damages.
Kaley's lead attorney, Mark Lanier, said in a statement on Friday that the legal team expected the appellate court to "continue the careful application of the law to this case, affirming the verdict of the trial court."
A notice of appeal marks the beginning of what could be a lengthy legal process.
A Meta spokesperson reiterated the company's earlier position, first issued after the March verdict, saying that teenage mental health is "profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app."
Google also confirmed it would challenge the ruling. Company spokesperson Jose Castaneda said YouTube plans to appeal and described the filings as "standard motions for this case to move forward."
Following the verdict, both Meta and Google filed post-trial motions seeking judgment notwithstanding the verdict, a routine legal request asking the judge to overturn the jury's decision, as well as motions seeking a new trial. However, Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl rejected both requests in early June.
Technology companies such as Meta and YouTube are generally protected from legal liability for third-party content under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. To overcome those protections, the plaintiffs focused on the platforms' design features, including infinite scrolling and autoplay functions, arguing that these encouraged addictive use rather than challenging the content itself.
The issue of whether the case crossed into content-related legal protections remained a major point of dispute throughout the five-week trial, with the defendants repeatedly raising objections.
The California verdict came amid mounting legal challenges for Meta. Just one day earlier, a jury in New Mexico found that the company's platforms harm children's mental health and safety, siding with state prosecutors and imposing a penalty of USD 375 million. Meta has also announced plans to appeal that ruling.
"We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously, and we remain confident in our record of protecting teens online," a Meta spokesperson said after the verdicts and reiterated on Friday.
Kaley's lawsuit is regarded as the first case of its kind, and legal experts believe the verdict could influence thousands of similar lawsuits accusing social media companies of intentionally designing platforms that cause harm to young users.
TikTok and Snapchat parent company Snap Inc. were also originally named as defendants in the lawsuit but reached confidential settlements before the trial began.