Opinion

GREGG JARRETT: Jury blames Meta, Google for teen harm—but appeal could crush case

Section 230 immunity and a First Amendment challenge could give Meta and Google strong grounds to overturn the $3M damages award on appeal.

By Gregg Jarrett Fox News

Published March 25, 2026 3:41pm EDT | Updated March 25, 2026 3:43pm EDT

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Jury finds Google and Meta liable for negligence, failure to warn

Kerri Urbahn and Josh Ritter analyze the significant $3 million jury award against Meta and YouTube in a landmark social media trial, found liable for negligence and failure to warn.

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A Los Angeles jury on Wednesday rendered a verdict of liability against Meta and Google, finding that their Instagram and YouTube platforms created harmful digital addiction in children. The plaintiff was awarded $3 million in damages, 70 percent to be paid by Meta and 30 percent by Google.

Full disclosure—I own shares in both companies. Snapchat and TikTok were originally named as co-defendants but settled in advance of the trial.

Does the judgment now spell doom for the social media giants under an avalanche of thousands of other similar lawsuits? No. It is doubtful that the verdict will withstand the scrutiny of various appeals, particularly if it reaches the U.S. Supreme Court.

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The case was brought in state court by a 20-year-old California woman identified only as Kaley G.M. Her lawyers argued that Meta and Google targeted children by engineering their platforms to be harmfully addictive and by deploying algorithms to keep them hooked.

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg departs the court after taking the stand at a trial in a case accusing Meta and Google's YouTube of harming kids' mental health through addictive platforms, in Los Angeles, California, on Feb. 18, 2026.  (Mike Blake/Reuters)

Kaley logged on to YouTube when she was six years old, added Instagram when she was nine, and it escalated from there. She was documented spending over 16........

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