STORY: :: Parents of children affected by social media celebrate a verdict against Meta and Google
:: Los Angeles, California / March 25, 2026
SARAH GARDNER OF CHILD ONLINE PROTECTION NONPROFIT HEAT INITIATIVE, SAYING:
"Relieved, nervous, surreal, feels surreal. We've waited a long time. And by we, I mean these parents." // "And that's the first time, this is the first time that we've seen all these documents. And we know, the decisions they were making, putting the kids' lives at risk and making money off of it and it's not ok."
LENNON TORRES OF CHILD ONLINE PROTECTION NONPROFIT HEAT INITIATIVE, SAYING:
"This is the beginning of the tides turning on big tech, for sure."
The case involves a 20-year-old woman who said she became addicted to Google's YouTube and Meta's Instagram at a young age because of their attention-grabbing design. The jury found Google and Meta were negligent in the design of both apps and failed to warn about their dangers.
