Washington (USA), 25 March (LaPresse) – A jury in Los Angeles has found Meta, the owner of Instagram, and YouTube liable in an unprecedented case seeking to hold social media platforms accountable for harm caused to minors using their services. The verdict came after more than 40 hours of deliberation, spread over nine days, and more than a month after the opening hearing. The claimant, a 20-year-old woman identified in the documents as KGM, or Kaley as her lawyers referred to her during the trial, claims that early use of social media made her addicted to the technology and exacerbated her mental health issues. The woman said she started using YouTube at the age of 6 and Instagram at 9, and told the jury she spent ‘all day’ on social media during her childhood. Meta and YouTube, owned by Google, were the other two defendants remaining in the case, after TikTok and Snap had reached an out-of-court settlement before the trial began. The ruling dealt a severe blow to the two companies, which have historically been protected by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.