Meta and YouTube on the Hook for Keeping Users Hooked: Tech Companies May Face Liability for Causing User Addiction

The $6 million verdict against Meta and YouTube was returned by a jury in a Los Angeles County courtroom on March 26, 2026, in the case of P. F, et al (K.G.M) v. Meta Platforms, Inc, et al. The decision has reverberated throughout both the tech world and the mainstream media and suggests that juries in the US are prepared to hold "big tech" companies accountable for the addictive effects of their platforms on young consumers. Beyond the implications for tech giants such as Meta and YouTube, however, this case could also have important implications for other players in the space, including Canadian tech companies.

Issue

The 20-year-old plaintiff, K.G.M., brought a claim against the social media companies, Meta (which owns Instagram and Facebook) and YouTube for causing harm to her mental health. The jury was charged with determining whether Meta and YouTube were negligent in the design of their platforms and failed to warn K.G.M. of the dangers, and whether such negligence caused K.G.M.'s mental health struggles.

Outcome

The jury found Meta and YouTube liable for the negligent design of their platforms, which caused harm to K.G.M.'s mental health. The jury decided on a damages award of US$6 million.

A Canadian Perspective

The concern surrounding social media's impact on young users is not unique to the United States. Indeed, this issue was recently investigated by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada ("OPC") and other privacy regulators across the globe in a recent privacy sweep of websites and apps, assessing their impact on the privacy of children's personal information.

Specifically, the OPC recently participated in a global "privacy sweep" with 26 other data protection and privacy regulators throughout Canada and across the world - all of which are participants of the Global Privacy Enforcement Network. The participants examined 876 websites and apps that collect children's personal information and looked for indicators such as the collection of children's data, protective controls of personal information and the implementation of age-assurance mechanisms.

The OPC also compared the findings of the investigation against a previous sweep conducted in 2015. Overall, the participants found that privacy practices had improved since 2015, including greater implementation of protective controls, age-assurance mechanisms and account deletion accessibility. However, the participants also found an increase in the number of websites and apps that required the collection of certain types of personal information, such as email addresses and geolocation.

It is also notable that any improvements found in the recent sweep were not present in all the websites or apps, or even the majority. For example, only 45% of the websites and apps had age assurance mechanisms in place. Even among these, 72% of them allowed some way to circumvent these measures.

Finally, the participants expressed being uncomfortable with children using 41% of the reviewed websites and apps. In 2015, this rating was lower, at 30%.

Takeaways

Canadian businesses should be alert to these recent developments. The latest U.S. decision and the recent OPC investigation reveals a prevalent concern about the adequacy of safety and privacy measures for many websites and apps, particularly with respect to young users. Accordingly, tech companies might find themselves facing increased scrutiny by regulators or being subject to lawsuits such as class actions for the effect of their products on young users. When making business decisions, organizations offering technology platforms and app creators should keep user safety and privacy protection top of mind and be cautious not to instead favour or prioritize young user engagement. Otherwise, businesses may face potential regulatory consequences, or liability should they be subject to litigation.

For more information about AI and privacy compliance in Canada, please contact Laura Crimi or Roland Hung of Torkin Manes' Technology and Privacy & Data Management Groups.

The authors would like to acknowledge Torkin Manes' Articling Student Dena Sharafdin for her invaluable contribution in drafting this bulletin.