The jury deliberating a landmark social media addiction case involving tech giants Meta and Google informed a Los Angeles judge on Monday that they are experiencing difficulty reaching a consensus regarding one of the defendants — but which one has not been made public.
The New York Post reports that a jury in Los Angeles has notified Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl that it is struggling to come to an agreement in a landmark trial addressing social media addiction claims against technology companies Meta and Google. The jury did not specify which of the two defendants is causing the impasse in their deliberations.
Judge Kuhl responded to the jury’s announcement by encouraging them to reach a verdict if possible. However, she cautioned that if the jury cannot achieve consensus, the case will need to be retried with an entirely new group of jurors.
The jury has now been deliberating for more than a week on this case, which centers on allegations brought by a young woman who claims she developed an addiction to both Google’s YouTube platform and Meta’s Instagram at a young age. The case represents one of the first major trials to directly address the question of whether social media companies can be held legally responsible for allegedly addictive features in their products.
The stakes in this trial extend well beyond the individual plaintiff involved. Legal experts and industry observers have noted that the outcome of this case could significantly influence the trajectory of thousands of similar lawsuits that have been filed against these tech companies. These additional cases have been brought by various parties, including parents of young users, state attorneys general seeking to protect consumers in their jurisdictions, and school districts concerned about the impact of social media on students.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared as a witness in the trial last month. His testimony represented a rare courtroom appearance for one of the technology industry’s most prominent executives and highlighted the seriousness with which Meta is treating the litigation.
Breitbart News previously reported on Zuckerberg’s testimony:
During his testimony, defense attorney Paul Schmidt presented an email exchange between Zuckerberg and Cook from February 2018. Zuckerberg explained his reasoning for reaching out to the Apple executive, stating, “I thought there were opportunities that our company and Apple could be doing and I wanted to talk to Tim about that.” He added, “I care about the wellbeing of teens and kids who are using our services.”
A significant portion of the trial has focused on Instagram’s controversial beauty and cosmetic surgery filters, popular with teenage users. Zuckerberg testified that Meta consulted with various stakeholders about these filters but did not provide specific names. When questioned about messages showing he lifted a ban on beauty filters because it was “paternalistic,” Zuckerberg responded, “It sounds like something I would say and something I feel. It feels a little overbearing.”
Read more at the New York Post here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
