Meta Moves to Overturn California Jury Verdict on Social Media Addiction Claims

A recent courtroom victory for a former social-media user is under threat after Meta Platforms asked a California judge to set aside the jury’s decision that held the company responsible for contributing to the plaintiff’s depression. The request, filed on Monday and entered into the public docket on Wednesday, urges Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lawrence P. Riff to either enter judgment in Meta’s favor or order a new trial. The motion targets a landmark March verdict that found both Meta and Alphabet’s YouTube negligent in the way their platforms are designed and in their failure to warn users of potential mental-health risks.

The original verdict awarded $4.2 million in damages against Meta and $1.8 million against Google. Jurors concluded that certain platform features—such as autoplay and infinite scroll—encouraged excessive use and contributed to the depressive symptoms experienced by the plaintiff, identified in court papers as Kaley G.M. Snap and TikTok, also named in the lawsuit, settled with the plaintiff prior to the start of testimony and were not part of the jury’s deliberations.

In its post-trial motion, Meta relies heavily on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a 1996 federal statute that generally shields online services from liability for content posted by users. The company maintains that the evidence introduced during the five-week trial linked Kaley G.M.’s mental-health issues to specific third-party material she viewed, not to the platform mechanics that remained at the center of the plaintiff’s legal theory. By Meta’s argument, Section 230 bars claims that attempt to impose liability arising from user-generated content, even when those claims are framed as design defects or failures to warn.

Google filed a parallel motion seeking to overturn the findings against YouTube or, alternatively, to secure a new trial. Like Meta, Google asserts that Section 230 immunizes it from negligence claims tied to content posted by others. Lower-court judges presiding over related state and federal cases have generally declined to dismiss lawsuits on Section 230 grounds at early stages, but the matter is expected to feature prominently in appellate briefing should the verdict stand. A Congressional Research Service summary notes that courts continue to grapple with the scope of Section 230’s protections, particularly when plaintiffs focus on recommendation algorithms and other product-design choices.

The California trial functioned as the first bellwether among thousands of similar actions pending nationwide. Plaintiffs in those suits—filed by individuals, families, school districts and state attorneys general—allege that social-media companies intentionally engineered addictive interfaces that have fueled what they describe as a youth mental-health crisis. Outcomes in bellwether trials often shape settlement talks and litigation strategy for the wider docket, so the final resolution of Meta’s and Google’s post-trial motions is being closely monitored by lawyers on both sides.

During the Los Angeles proceedings, jurors heard expert testimony about the role of push notifications, endless scrolling and personalized content feeds in sustaining user engagement. Kaley G.M., now in her twenties, testified that she began using social media in middle school and experienced worsening depression and anxiety in high school. Her attorneys argued that platform design features kept her online for prolonged periods, exposing her to content that undermined her self-esteem. Meta countered that user-generated posts, not platform architecture, were the direct cause of any alleged harm, and that parents and users themselves wielded significant control over time spent online.

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In seeking to unwind the verdict, Meta also contends that the jury instructions were flawed and that certain evidence was improperly admitted. The company points in particular to testimony connecting Kaley G.M.’s experience to broader statistics about adolescent mental health, asserting that the data lacked a direct causal link to Meta’s conduct. Should Judge Riff deny Meta’s motion, the company is expected to appeal to California’s intermediate appellate court, which would open a new phase of legal analysis that could eventually influence interpretations of product-liability law in the digital sphere.

Attorneys representing Kaley G.M. did not immediately respond to requests for comment after Meta’s filing became public. The court has not yet scheduled a hearing on the post-trial motions. Under California procedure, the judge may decide the matter based solely on written submissions or may call for oral argument before issuing a ruling. Until the court acts, the $6 million combined judgment against Meta and Google remains in place, and the outcome of this first-of-its-kind trial continues to reverberate through the broader landscape of social-media litigation.

Whatever the next procedural step, the case underscores growing legal scrutiny of how major technology companies design and market their platforms, particularly to younger audiences. The result of Meta’s request could either reinforce plaintiffs’ emerging strategy of framing addiction claims around product design or strengthen the industry’s reliance on Section 230 as a robust defense. The judge’s forthcoming decision is expected to serve as an early indicator of how similar claims may fare in courts across the United States.