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Meta seeks to scrap landmark social media addiction ruling
07 May 2026

Meta Platforms has requested a Los Angeles judge to overturn a jury's verdict that found the company responsible for a woman's depression.

The request was made on Monday and was made public on Wednesday.

The landmark trial examined whether Meta's platform designs are addictive and harmful to young users.

The jury had previously ruled that both Meta and Google's parent company, Google, were negligent in their platform designs and failed to warn users about potential dangers.

Jury held Meta accountable for $4.2 million in damages
Verdict details

The jury had held Meta accountable for $4.2 million in damages while Google was found liable for $1.8 million.

Google has said it plans to appeal the decision, with Meta asking the court to either overturn the verdict or order a new trial.

Snap and TikTok were also part of this lawsuit but settled with the plaintiff before it went to trial.

Meta invokes Section 230 of Communications Decency Act
Legal defense

In its filing, Meta has invoked Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a federal law from 1996 that generally protects online platforms from liability over user-generated content.

The company argued that evidence presented at trial repeatedly linked Kaley's mental health challenges to the content she viewed on its platform, rather than design features like autoplay and infinite scroll.

Case could influence settlement talks across similar lawsuits
Wider impact

The Los Angeles trial was a test case for state court cases, potentially influencing settlement talks across other similar lawsuits.

Lower court judges have mostly rejected the companies' arguments that Section 230 blocks these claims.

However, the interpretation of this law, widely viewed as having far-reaching consequences for various internet companies, will likely be a major aspect of any appeal.