Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, and YouTube are indeed responsible with their algorithms for the addiction that an American woman from Chico, California developed. A jury at the Los Angeles District Court ruled this on Wednesday, after an argument by American media such as ‘groundbreaking’ described case. The companies must pay $3 million in damages. Meta, Mark Zuckerberg’s company, must reimburse more than 2.1 million of this.
The 20-year-old woman, referred to in the press as ‘KGM’, says she became addicted to Instagram and YouTube when she was in primary school. Among other things, she is said to have become depressed and developed suicidal thoughts. The apps contributed to her mental problems, she says.
The companies should have been expected to provide better warnings about the risks of their apps, especially for minors, according to the jury. According to the jury, the addictive design of social media also involves intent, deception and violation of the rights of users. During the hearing, which lasted seven weeks, Zuckerberg himself was heard, among others. He admitted, among other things, that he had ignored warnings from experts about the risks of so-called ‘beauty filters’ for girls. The Facebook founder considered a ban on such filters to be an “infringement on free expression”.
The ruling was followed with great interest, as approximately three thousand similar lawsuits are taking place throughout the US. Social media companies are continually being sued for the alleged harmfulness of their apps and algorithms. It is expected that the ruling in the ‘KGM’ case may set a precedent for the assessment of subsequent cases.
The companies behind TikTok and Snapchat were also previously sued by the same woman, but they reached a settlement. A Meta spokesperson “respectfully disagrees” with the statement, international news agencies report.
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