A Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube liable in a case regarding the design of their platforms to hook children.
Posted by On with Kara Swisher, Checked
- Sources
- 6 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 90%
On with Kara SwisherAug 10, 2026
Multiple reliable sources (Politico, NPR, PBS, AP via Chicago Sun-Times, NBC News) report that a Los Angeles jury in March 2026 found Meta and YouTube liable (negligent in platform design) in a case about addictive design harming a child, matching the claim; the post's 'earlier this year' fits that March verdict.
A guest makes this claim. Listeners heard it, so it counts against the post, and on the guest's own record.
What was said
… Yeah, but he's he's calling for regulation. I mean, there's a mountain of evidence that say social media companies knew their products were harmful to kids and time after time chose engagement over safety in the design. Earlier this year, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube liable in a case about whether they designed their platforms to hook kids in a landmark lawsuit, and I, of course, interviewed parents who say their children died by suicide with the encouragement of chat box, and if you read if you read these texts between them, it's very disturbing and heartbreaking. …
On with Kara Swisher · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. Politico and NPR report that a California jury in Los Angeles found Meta and YouTube negligent for designing addictive social media platforms that harmed a child, in a verdict on March 25, 2026.[2][3]
Supports. PBS and AP (via Chicago Sun-Times) report the jury found Meta and YouTube liable for designing their platforms to be addictive for children and teens, with the jury deciding each company's negligence was a substantial factor in causing harm.[4][7]
Supports. NBC News and the NYT note that the March Los Angeles verdict against Meta and YouTube was the first such loss and remains in effect, with the later Meta settlements concerning different plaintiffs.[5][6]
Context. Later developments (a Meta settlement with a second plaintiff, K.D.B., in October 2026) do not alter the March verdict; the post's reference to the verdict is accurate as of its posting date.[1][5][6]
Sources
7 sources: 1 fact-checker, 5 tier 2, 1 not rated
- 1A look at major lawsuits against Meta over social media harms ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2Meta, YouTube found liable for social media addiction in landmark trialpolitico.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 3Jury finds Meta and Google negligent in social media harms trialnpr.org · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 4Jury finds Meta and YouTube liable in landmark youth ...pbs.org · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 5Meta settles claims with second plaintiff in social media addiction casenbcnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports, context
- 6Meta settles social media addiction case, avoiding trialnytimes.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports, context
- 7Jury finds Instagram and YouTube liable in landmark social ...chicago.suntimes.com · not rated · cited for: supports
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post