“We respectfully disagree with the verdict and will appeal,” Meta said in its March statement. “Teen mental health is profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app.”
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has appealed the verdict of a landmark social media addiction trial that found the company liable for a young woman’s mental health struggles.
According to The Associated Press, lawyers representing Meta filed a notice of appeal in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Tuesday. In it, Meta outlined its argument against the jury’s finding that the company had intentionally designed its platforms to be as addictive and engaging as possible.
The lawsuit, notes The Associated Press, was filed on behalf of a 20-year-old identified as KGM in court documents. KGM said that she became addicted to social media as a child, worsening her depression and contributing to issues like general anxiety and body dysmorphia, too.
During trial, KGM testified that she once used Instagram for more than 16 hours in a single day.
“I just felt like I wanted to be on it all the time, and if I wasn’t on it, I felt like I was going to miss out on something,” she told the jury. “Every single day, I was on it all day long.”
The jury found that negligence on the parts of Meta and YouTube, a co-defendant in the case, was a substantial factor in causing harm to KGM.
KGM was ultimately awarded $3 million in damages along with an additional $3 million in punitive damages. Her lead attorney, Mark Lanier, said on Friday that he expects the appellate court to “continue the careful application of the law to this case, affirming the verdict of the trial court.”
A Meta spokesperson repeated an earlier statement, provided after the trial in March, reiterating the company’s position that mental health is “profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app.”
“We respectfully disagree with the verdict and will appeal,” Meta said in its March statement. “Teen mental health is profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app.”
“We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously, and we remain confident in our record of protecting teens online,” Meta said.
Sources
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