Historic California Verdict Against Meta and Google Marks Social Media’s Big Tobacco Moment
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A California jury today found Meta Platforms and Alphabet Inc. liable in a landmark social media addiction lawsuit. The case was brought by a young plaintiff who alleged that she had suffered serious mental health harms after becoming addicted to platforms operated by the companies. The case is the first of its kind to result in a verdict against major social media companies and is expected to shape thousands of related cases nationwide: more than 2,000 pending lawsuits allege that companies including Meta, Google, Snap Inc., and TikTok knowingly designed products that foster compulsive use among children and adolescents while exposing them to self-harm, exploitation, and mental health injury.
J.B. Branch, AI governance and technology policy counsel at Public Citizen, issued the following statement:
“The California jury has delivered a clear message — companies that knowingly design products that intensify addiction and contribute to serious harm will be held accountable by the American public. This verdict is a watershed moment in the fight to hold social media companies accountable for building products they knew were addictive, manipulative, and harmful to children. For years, companies like Meta and Google told Congress, parents, and the public that they were committed to safety. But internal evidence showed that engagement and profit were prioritized over the well-being of children.
“The parallels to Big Tobacco litigation are becoming harder to ignore. Like tobacco companies before them, social media firms built massive business models around dependency, denied or minimized mounting evidence of harm, and resisted meaningful safeguards while millions of young people were exposed to escalating risks. Infinite scroll, push notifications, algorithmic amplification, and behavioral targeting were commercial design choices built to maximize attention, addiction, and revenue.
“This verdict is part of a broader public accountability reckoning that is beginning to confront the human costs of unrestrained digital product design. Courts and juries across America are now doing what Congress has failed to do: forcing facts into public view and creating consequences when powerful companies refuse to act responsibly.
“Now more than ever, it’s time for Congress and federal regulators to establish enforceable safeguards for youth online while preserving the right of states to adopt stronger standards, including stronger product safety requirements, transparency obligations, limits on manipulative design practices, and accountability mechanisms for platforms whose business models depend on prolonged youth engagement.”