‘These decisions mark a turning point,’ said Forrester VP research director Mike Proulx.
A landmark legal case found that Meta and YouTube were designed to be addictive to children. The previous day, Meta lost a child safety lawsuit, which found that features of the platform allowed for the sexual exploitation of children.
The mounting legal challenges are being heralded by some as Big Tech’s “Big Tobacco moment,” which aims to address the damage social media has caused to its younger users.
A judge in Los Angeles heard the case in nine days and concluded that Meta and YouTube are liable to pay the 20-year-old plaintiff a total of $6m in damages. Meta is given 70pc of the work, and YouTube, 30pc.
Part of each company’s fines will be used to compensate the claimant’s losses, including mental health support, and the other part is for monetary damages to punish the companies.
Kaley GM’s lawsuit filed in 2022 also involved TikTok and Snapchat, however both have since settled out of court.
The young complainant said that he started using YouTube from the age of six, and Instagram, from the age of nine. One day, she spent 16 hours on Instagram, she said. The plaintiff accused the platforms of causing harm, including depression and body dysmorphia.
His case is one of thousands pending, which could cause significant financial damage to the companies involved and help change the legal landscape of the social networks that operate under them.
Meta and Google said they disagree with the decision. Google said it planned to appeal, while Meta said it was “exploring its legal options”.
“This case misunderstands YouTube, which is a well-established streaming platform, not a social network,” Google added.
Efforts have been made in recent years to strengthen the safety of children on social media, including a ban on underage social media that went into effect in Australia, and is currently being discussed in several European countries. Platforms are also starting to police themselves.
“Traditional” social media aside, the emergence of generative AI tools has added to the difficulty of protecting users online, as seen with Grok, where users can ask a chatbot to undress people in photos and videos.
“These decisions are incredibly significant. Negative feelings about social media have been building for years, and now they’re over,” said Forrester Deputy Research Director Mike Proulx.
“This problem is at the intersection of social media companies’ platform obligations, years of ineffective government regulation, and the role parents and teachers play in helping children develop healthy digital habits.
“These decisions are not just about social media’s past.
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