Meta and YouTube Found Guilty of Being Harmful Towards Young Children in Landmark Trial

On March 25th, in a landmark decision, a jury found social media platforms Meta and YouTube, owned by Google, guilty of being harmful to young children in the state of California. The case involved a 20-year-old woman who claimed that at a young age, she became addicted to both social media platforms, causing her to develop symptoms of depression and anxiety. Here’s all that happened during the trial, and what led to the jury’s momentous decision.

Kaley vs Meta and YouTube

Among the countless similar lawsuits consolidated in California state courts, K.G.M. v. Meta et al. concluded on March 25th, with the jury finding social media platforms Meta and YouTube liable for harming young children. A woman named Kaley sued both social media platforms after claiming them to be the cause of her social media addiction, as well as depression and anxiety.

The jury found both Meta and YouTube, which is owned by Google, to be negligent in how each platform was designed to be consumed, especially by young children, failing to protect them from explicit content. The jury ordered both platforms to pay $6 million in damages, with Meta liable for $4.2 million and Google for $1.8 million.

This decision shocked many, with people calling the Los Angeles trial a bellwether, or test case, for the thousands of other lawsuits about social media safety in California state courts. According to reports, both Meta and YouTube disagree with the verdict and plan to appeal the decision, a statement made by a spokesperson of each company.

Statements by Both Sides

After reports of the jury’s decision were announced and made public, representatives of both the plaintiff and defendants made statements regarding the landmark decision in this case. The plaintiff’s lead counsel expressed happiness over the decision, whereas representatives of both Meta and YouTube fiercely disagree with the decision. Here’s what both the plaintiff’s counsel and the defendants had to say about the jury decision:

“Today’s ⁠verdict is a referendum — from a jury, to an entire industry — that accountability has arrived,” the plaintiff’s lead counsel said in a statement.

“This case misunderstands YouTube, which is a responsibly built streaming platform, not a social media site,” a statement made by Google spokesman José Castañeda.

Social Media and Child Safety

The debate over social media and the effects it has on young children has definitely come to a head, especially since last year, when numerous lawsuits against Roblox claimed the online gaming platform failed to protect young children from child predators and explicit content. The last year has seen an explosive number of lawsuits against gaming and tech companies that offer online services, and with absolutely good reason.

Currently, Roblox faces dozens of lawsuits across the country, alleging that the platform facilitated child sexual abuse, exploitation, and assault. The lawsuits claim the company prioritized growth over safeguards like age verification and parental controls. In December 2025, many of these lawsuits were consolidated in federal court. In response to these lawsuits, many other platforms, such as Discord, added age and identity verification to help mitigate child safety concerns.

Now, Meta and YouTube are the next social media platforms the public has been targeting. The argument is the same; these platforms not only fail to protect young children online, but also help facilitate harm to young children who are chronically online. The K.G.M. v. Meta et al. trial is just the beginning. There are thousands of cases just in the California state courts alone that argue the adverse effects of social media on children, and it’ll be interesting to see how this fight will unfold in the near future.