A 20-year-old woman plaintiff has won a social media addiction lawsuit against Meta, which operates Instagram, and Google, which operates YouTube. A jury found the two companies operated products harmful to teenagers but did not warn of the risks, recognising negligence liability, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Tuesday.

The jury ordered Meta and YouTube to pay $3 million to the plaintiff, Kaylee G.M. Kaylee testified that her use of social media, which began before her teens, dominated her daily life for years and caused mental health problems including anxiety, depression and body dysmorphic disorder. The jury also ordered the two companies to pay an additional $3 million in punitive damages.

In the seven-week trial, Kaylee said she began watching YouTube at age 6 and created an Instagram account at age 9. Mark Lanier, a lawyer for the plaintiff, said there were days when Kaylee used Instagram for 16 hours.

Lawyers for the plaintiff said social media companies had targeted children for years to make money while hiding addictive design. They said the verdict was a jury message that accountability had arrived for the entire industry.

Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said the company plans to appeal, adding that teen mental health is a very complex issue that cannot be tied to a single app. Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda also said it plans to appeal, arguing the case misunderstood YouTube.

Earlier, a New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay $375 million in damages, saying it failed to protect minors from online risks. About 3,000 similar lawsuits against Meta, YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok are currently pending in a California court.