In a significant legal verdict, a jury in Los Angeles has ruled that Meta and YouTube were negligent in a landmark social media addiction trial, holding them accountable for the design of their platforms, which were found to be addictive to children. The jury awarded a total of over $6 million in damages to the plaintiffs, including a 20-year-old woman who claimed to have developed an addiction to these platforms as a child. Critics of Big Tech have hailed the ruling as a ‘Big Tobacco moment,’ signaling a potential shift in accountability for social media companies regarding the mental health and safety of young users. This decision may reshape legal protections for such platforms and set a precedent for future cases against social media giants.