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Social media addiction lawsuit: Jury awards $6 million against Meta and Google

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • A Los Angeles jury has ordered Meta and Google to pay $6 million to a woman who developed depression and self-harm issues due to social media addiction, marking the first case holding a social media company responsible for teen addiction.
  • The plaintiff, Kaley Glenn-Mills, began using YouTube at age 6 and developed negative body image and depression by age 10, leading to self-harm.
  • The verdict, currently under appeal, has sparked global debate on social media's dangers and is seen as a basis for stricter platform regulations worldwide.

A landmark jury verdict in Los Angeles has found Meta and Google responsible for teen addiction, ordering them to pay $6 million to a young woman who developed severe depression and engaged in self-harm linked to social media use. This marks the first time a social media company has been held accountable for addiction in a teenager.

Do you know how much it hurts to see such a lovable child be so self-degrading?

— Yang Soo-seokDescribing the emotional toll of the case on the legal team.

The plaintiff, Kaley Glenn-Mills, began using YouTube at the age of 6, initially experiencing joy from playing games and creating videos. However, by age 10, she developed a negative body image, describing herself as "too fat." By 12, she was writing songs about "sad girls" and uploading videos, later telling a lawyer she was battling depression, which worsened to the point of self-harm.

Mark Lanier, a lawyer representing her, told her she wasn’t fat at all and that no child should be thinking of themselves the way she did.

— Yang Soo-seokRecounting a moment of reassurance for the plaintiff during the trial.

US Attorney Yang Soo-seok, one of the lawyers representing Glenn-Mills, described the emotional impact of seeing a child degrade herself. He recounted how her lawyer, Mark Lanier, reassured her she was not fat and that no child should feel that way, a moment that brought a hush to the court.

Social media platforms have designed their algorithms in a way that borders on manipulation, knowing full well that it leads to excessive engagement.

— Lee Jae MyungReferring to the case during a report on the dangers of social media.

The verdict, delivered on March 25 by a 12-person jury in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, included $3 million in punitive damages. While Meta and Google have appealed the decision, the case has ignited intense public debate about the risks of social media addiction. It is also providing a strong foundation for countries globally that are pushing to regulate addictive features on social media platforms. Even Korean President Lee Jae Myung has referenced the case, highlighting how platform algorithms are designed for excessive engagement, making user addiction a result of deliberate design rather than a mere side effect.

When we started working on the case, our chances looked slim. We all had our doubts, thinking ‘Doesn’t everyone spend time on social media?’ or ‘Is it as dangerous as drug or alcohol addictions?’ However, we overturned those assumptions one by one during the trial.

— Yang Soo-seokReflecting on the challenges and eventual success of the legal team.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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