Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, has appealed the verdict of a landmark social media addiction lawsuit in Los Angeles. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
Lawyers representing Meta filed a notice of appeal Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. They will provide their arguments in subsequent court filings.
The case centered on a 20-year-old woman who said she became addicted to social media as a child and that it worsened her mental health. The jury found that negligence by both Meta and Google-owned YouTube was a substantial factor in causing harm to the woman, identified in court only as KGM and Kaley.
The jury awarded her $3 million in damages and recommended an additional $3 million in punitive damages. Her lead attorney, Mark Lanier, said in a statement Friday that the legal team expects the appellate court to affirm the verdict.
A notice of appeal starts a potentially lengthy process. A Meta spokesperson reiterated a statement from March, saying teen mental health is "profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app."
José Castañeda, a spokesperson for Google, said Friday that YouTube plans to appeal and that "these are standard motions for this case to move forward."
Meta and Google had each filed post-trial motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, which were denied by Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl in early June.
Tech companies are shielded from liability for third-party content under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. To bypass those protections, plaintiffs focused on design features like infinite scroll and autoplay.
The verdict came amid legal troubles for Meta. A jury in New Mexico returned a verdict finding Meta's platforms harm children's mental health, with a $375 million penalty. Meta said it will also appeal that case.
Kaley's case was a first-of-its-kind lawsuit, and the verdict could influence thousands of similar cases. TikTok and Snapchat were also named as defendants but settled before trial.