Meta and Google Lose Fight over Addictive Platform Design

Meta and Google have suffered another legal defeat over the impact of social media platforms on minors. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl denied their request for a new trial after a jury found that Instagram and YouTube had been designed in ways that fostered addiction in young users.

The lawsuit was brought by a woman who claimed she became addicted to both platforms at a young age as a result of their addictive design features. The jury awarded her $6m in damages.

Both companies argued they were protected by a provision of the Communications Decency Act, which grants internet platforms broad liability protection for user-generated content. The court ruled, however, that the case concerned not the content itself but the decisions made in designing how the platforms functioned.

The court found there was substantial evidence that the plaintiff had been harmed by the core mechanisms through which the social networking sites operated. Both Meta and Google have announced they will appeal.

(reuters, max)