Juries in New Mexico and Los Angeles have found Meta and Google liable for harming minors, marking a significant legal shift in how social media platforms face accountability.

Key points

• Juries ruled that Instagram and YouTube features contributed to social media addiction and personal injuries among teenage users.
• Meta was found liable in New Mexico for misleading users regarding the safety of its platforms.
• The companies are currently appealing the verdicts, which involve potential penalties totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.
• Legal experts note these cases successfully bypassed traditional Section 230 protections by framing social media platforms as defective products.
• Meta recently discontinued end-to-end encryption on Instagram following legal pressure regarding platform safety.

These rulings signal a potential turning point in how courts treat digital platforms, moving away from broad immunity toward product liability standards. If upheld, the decisions could force major tech companies to fundamentally alter algorithmic features and business practices to mitigate legal risk.