00:00We're going to return now to L.A., where a jury has found Alphabet, Google and Meta liable in a
00:06case that accused them of knowingly making their social media platforms addictive.
00:10And we can cross now to Los Angeles, where Wassim Cournet is standing by for us.
00:18Wassim, tell us more about that landmark verdict.
00:23Yeah, this could mark a major turning point in how courts in the United States treat social companies, social media
00:29companies, and how they treat those complaints made against those social media companies.
00:34Essentially, what this jury concluded is that both YouTube and Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, were
00:41negligent in the design of their platforms and that those specific design choices led to a substantial impact in harming
00:51the plaintiff.
00:52In this case, a young woman that was identified in court documents as Kaylee.
00:57The jurors say that companies knew or should have known that their services could be dangerous to minors.
01:03The companies have both been hit with a $3 million fine, but because the jury also found the companies acted
01:09with malice, oppression or fraud, then that opens the door to another separate punitive damages phase, which could lead to
01:17a much higher fine.
01:18And so this case centered around Kaylee's testimony, the fact that she was on YouTube starting at six years old,
01:24on Instagram starting at nine years old, going around a block that her mother had tried to install to stop
01:29her from using those platforms.
01:31And her lawyers argued that features like infinite scrolling, autoplay videos, constant notifications, like counts on stories and posts were
01:40instrumental in harming the client and were deliberately designed to keep young users hooked.
01:46The plaintiff said that those features caused some social media addiction essentially through her childhood years and teenage years and
01:53have led to some serious mental health issues into her adult life.
01:57Meta has issued a statement saying they respectfully disagree with the verdict and they are weighing their options.
02:02And Waseem, this verdict comes very much hot on the heels, sorry, of another landmark verdict that went against Meta,
02:10this time in New Mexico.
02:11That verdict coming in yesterday, Waseem.
02:16Yeah, just about 24 hours ago, jurors in New Mexico, statutes concluding rather that Meta misled the public in terms
02:25of the risks its platforms pose to young children.
02:28Essentially, the state the state prosecutor argued during that trial that Meta knowingly or rather failed to do enough to
02:35prevent bad actors on those platforms from getting in touch with children,
02:39essentially creating a breeding ground for predators on both Facebook and Instagram and that the company ultimately chose growth and
02:46profits over safety.
02:49And the jurors in that case, in that New Mexico case, found thousands of violations of state consumer protection laws
02:55and imposed a $375 million fine.
02:58In that case, Meta said it also disagreed with the verdict, but that it would appeal the verdict.
03:03And, of course, this comes as social media companies continue to face mounting legal pressure across the U.S.
03:10More than 40 state attorneys have filed lawsuits accusing social media companies of designing features that keep young users hooked
03:19while exposing them to harmful content.
03:22So these two verdicts back-to-back could certainly sort of shape the psyche in terms of those lawsuits that
03:28will play out in the next few weeks and months across the country.
03:31Well, Sime Con here, reporting live there from L.A. Thank you very much.
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