Tech giants To Pay $3 Million to People Harmed by Social Media

Meta and YouTube must pay $3 million in damages for pain and suffering and other financial burdens. Meta is responsible for 70 percent of that cost and YouTube for the remainder.

Addictive Like Cigarettes

A young woman identified at K.G.M. accused the tech giants of creating products as addictive as cigarettes or online gambling sites. She claimed that features like infinite scrolling and frequent algorithmic recommendations contributed to her depression and anxiety, according to the New York Times.

Here's just one of thousands of similar lawsuits, and this legal decision opens the floodgates for more people who feel that they have been harmed.

Meta has to pay 70 percent of the $3 million.

Historical Precedent

When lawyers went after big tobacco, claiming they were hiding facts about the dangers of the ingredients in tobacco products, Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds reached a $206 billion settlement with more than 40 states in 1998. The court case led to an agreement to stop marketing to minors. Tobacco regulations got tighter, fewer places allowed smoking indoors, and fewer people smoked.