Silicon Valley reeling from social media addiction trial verdict

The landmark decision in an LA court may go beyond immediate impacts on defendants Meta and YouTube.

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Tech giants Meta and YouTube were found to be liable for designing their platforms to be addictive, which harmed a 20-year-old's mental health.

The plaintiff at the heart of the case was only known by her first name Kaley - and after nine days of deliberation, the jurors agreed with her on all counts.

Some in the tech world have sought to downplay this case's impact, while others fear it's the beginning of a public reckoning that poses a threat - potentially an existential one - to US social media companies.

As one insider who asked not to be identified told the BBC, "we're having a moment".