The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have hailed a “reckoning” for major social media companies following a landmark US court decision that found Meta and Google liable for a woman's childhood social media addiction.
In a potentially groundbreaking ruling delivered in Los Angeles on Wednesday, a jury determined that Google, which owns YouTube, and Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, had intentionally designed platforms to ensnare young users without adequate consideration for their welfare.
The lawsuit, initiated by a 20-year-old woman who contended that her childhood addiction to social media had worsened her mental health struggles, could significantly influence thousands of similar ongoing cases accusing social media firms of causing harm.
Harry and Meghan said in a statement: “This verdict is a reckoning. For too long, families have paid the price for platforms built with total disregard for the children they reach.
“We stand with every parent and young person who refused to be silenced. Today, the truth has been heard and precedent has been set.
“Let this be the change – where our children’s safety is finally prioritised above profit.”
The jury recommended that the plaintiff be awarded $6 million (£4.4 million) in damages.
Both Meta and Google disagree with the verdict and say they are planning to appeal.
Before the verdict was announced, a spokesperson for Meghan and Harry said the trial had already been a “turning point” for big tech firms.
“It has forced some of the most powerful companies on earth to reveal what’s behind the curtain and to answer, in public and on the record, for choices that shaped an entire generation’s daily life,” the spokesperson said.
A Meta spokesperson said “teen mental health is profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app,” while Google said the verdict misunderstood YouTube, “which is a responsibly built streaming platform, not a social media site.”
Snapchat and TikTok were also named defendants in the lawsuit, but each settled before the trial started.
The California decision came a day after a New Mexico jury found Meta liable under state consumer protection law for misleading the public about the safety of its platforms and failing to protect children.
The duke and duchess have long campaigned to raise awareness about the harms of social media, with Harry criticising the “lawlessness” within the industry in a podcast interview in October.
In 2025, Harry and Meghan called for stronger protections for children online after unveiling a memorial in New York City to young people who lost their lives due to the harmful effects of social media.
The Sussexes’ Archewell Foundation previously unveiled its Parents’ Network initiative as a support system for parents of children affected by online harm.
Harry, speaking at a Project Healthy Minds event in New York City in October, claimed that the digital world has “fundamentally changed how we experience reality” and exposed young people to “relentless comparison, harassment, [and] misinformation.”
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