Meta and Google Ordered to Pay $6M in Landmark Tech Addiction Case

On March 25, 2026, a Los Angeles jury ordered Meta and Google to pay $6 million in damages to a young woman identified as K.G.M., who began using YouTube at age six and Instagram at nine, subsequently developing depression, anxiety, and body dysmorphia. The verdict has been hailed as a historic turning point, with prosecutors arguing that the companies "engineered addiction." Comparisons to the Big Tobacco lawsuits of the 1990s have emerged. However, the author of the source article, who has previously criticized digital capitalism platforms, disagrees with the ruling, arguing that the narrative it promotes is deeply flawed—not because Meta and Google are innocent, but for entirely different reasons not elaborated in the excerpt.