Escalation: Los Angeles jury finds Meta, Google liable
A Los Angeles County jury found Meta and YouTube negligent in the design or operation of their platforms. The negligence was a substantial factor in harming a 20-year-old plaintiff identified as K.G.M., or Kaley. Jurors awarded $3 million in compensatory damages.
They later added $3 million in punitive damages. Meta is responsible for 70% of the total and YouTube for 30%. Punitive damages were set at $2.1 million for Meta and $900,000 for YouTube.
The jury also found the companies failed to adequately warn users of the dangers. Deliberations ran nearly 44 hours over nine days. Only nine of 12 jurors were required to agree, and the panel was not unanimous on some counts.
TikTok and Snap settled with the plaintiff before trial. The case is the first in a consolidated group of more than 1,600 plaintiffs, including over 350 families and over 250 school districts. Meta and Google said they will appeal.
Synthesized from 19 sources
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