Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have directly addressed the verdict in a landmark negligence trial which saw Meta and Google being found liable for a woman’s social media addiction.On Wednesday, a Los Angeles jury found that Instagram, owned by Meta, and YouTube, owned by Google, were responsible for harming the anonymous plaintiff, awarding her $6million in damages.”For too long, families have paid the price for platforms built with total disregard for the children they reach,” they said.”We stand with every parent and young person who refused to be silenced.”Today, the truth has been heard and precedent has been set.”Let this be the change – where our children’s safety is finally prioritised above profit.”Prince Harry and Meghan Markle directly addressed the verdict in a landmark social media trial | PAThe case involves a 20-year-old woman – a child when the case began – who is known in court by her first name Kaley. She said she became addicted to Google’s YouTube and Meta’s Instagram at a young age because of their attention-grabbing design, such as the “infinite scroll” that encourages users to keep looking at new posts.The jury found Google and Meta were negligent in the design of both apps and failed to warn about their dangers.”Today’s verdict is a referendum – from a jury, to an entire industry – that accountability has arrived,” the plaintiff’s lead counsel said in a statement.
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PICTURED: Campaigners outside California state courts. ‘Kaley’, 20, said she became addicted to Google’s YouTube and Meta’s Instagram at a young age | REUTERSAt trial, the plaintiff’s lawyers sought to show Meta and Google intentionally targeted kids and made decisions that put profit over safety. Meta’s lawyers said the plaintiff’s difficult home life as a child was the cause of her mental health struggles, while YouTube argued her usage of the streaming platform was minimal.Jurors saw internal documents revealing how the two tech firms sought to attract younger users, and heard executives – including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg – take the stand to defend company decisions.On Wednesday afternoon, the Sussexes’ website railed against the dangers of the “products, design choices and business models,” describing them as being “weaponised in ways that shaped how young people live, learn, and connect”.Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stand to defend his firm’s decisions | PAIt described the decision as “stunning”, adding: “The jury concluded that their actions were carried out with malice, oppression, or fraud.”In other words: This wasn’t an accident. It was a choice.”This verdict is a bellwether – a social media warning label for the world. For the first time, a jury has said, unequivocally, that the way these platforms are designed can cause real harm, and that companies knew it.”