Web Desk March 26, 2026, 5:43 a.m.
New York: A US court has made a historic ruling on children's social media addiction. Meta and Google have been awarded $560 million in damages for a complaint alleging that social media platforms work in a way that creates addiction in individuals. A Los Angeles court has imposed a fine on Instagram's parent company Meta and YouTube's parent company Google. The court has ordered Meta to pay $4.2 million and Google $1.8 million in damages. The ruling is based on a woman's petition alleging that Meta and YouTube have damaged her mental health. A 20-year-old California native approached the court, claiming that she has been facing several mental health problems due to social media use since childhood. The court found that Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and Google intentionally created social media platforms that were harmful to the mental health of the 20-year-old. The Los Angeles court said that the companies did not change the platforms despite knowing that they were affecting the minds of children. The companies said they would appeal the court ruling. The hearing on the woman's complaint lasted more than 40 hours over nine days. The court then made a historic ruling. The court found that Meta and YouTube did not show sufficient care in the design and operation of their platforms. The ruling is assessed to have major implications for the global digital sector. Meta and Google have already stated that they will appeal the court ruling. They argue that the mental health of adolescents is very complex, and it is not only related to applications. Meta and Google representatives responded that they respectfully disagree with the ruling. We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously because each case is different, and we are confident in protecting teenagers, a Google spokesperson said.
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