On March 25, a Los Angeles court awarded a now 20-year-old woman $6 million after jurors found Meta platforms and YouTube (Google) negligently designed addictive platforms that harmed her mental health as a minor. The jury held the companies liable for exploiting young users through algorithmic recommendations, endless scrolling and incessant notifications, despite awareness of associated risks like anxiety, depression and obsessive usage. The ruling could influence thousands of similar lawsuits across the US.

The timing is appropriate. Recently, Karnataka’s 2026-27 budget proposed a ban on social media for under-16s, echoing moves in Australia, Indonesia, France and many other European countries. India’s 460 million-plus social media users, one-third under 18, face real harms, including cyberbullying, sleep deprivation, distorted self-image. Yet, the Los Angeles verdict does not vindicate bans. It demolishes them.

The jury’s finding is clear: Harm stems less from children’s choices than from platforms’ business model — what scholars like B J Fogg identified as “persuasive design” within “platform........

© Indian Express