Aaaand that was quick. Having awarded $3 million in actual damages, the jury has already come back with punitive damages of another $3 million. Total verdict is $6 million. Unhighlighted article attached (most of it duplicates what I already sent you).
Barring a post-trial settlement, IG and YT will file post-verdict motions (a long shot) and then appeal. But the real trouble comes in the form of thousands of similar cases pending in LA County alone . . .

From: robcartyesq@gmail.com
Sent: Wednesday, March 25, 2026 13:34
Subject: Big Addiction Verdict Against Instagram and YouTube
Adam—Instagram and YouTube just got hit with a jury verdict in a Los Angeles lawsuit alleging childhood social-media addiction. This was just for a single user, now 20 years old. Her actual-damages award is $3 million—but critically, the jury found IG and YT liable for _punitive_ damages too, in an amount to be determined.
To find punitive damages, the jury had to find that IG and YT acted with malice, fraud, or oppression. I expect a sizable punitive-damages award—possibly eclipsing the $3 million in actual damages—because the plaintiff’s lawyer is a guy from Houston named Mark Lanier. Mark is a part-time preacher and a fearsome trial lawyer. He cited internal documents that show IG and YT knew about the addiction problem. He cited a “slot-machine effect” and in closing arguments said that the case was as easy as ABC: Addicting the Brains of Children. It seems so silly, yet it’s so effective.
I’ve attached a short highlighted article.
This is a “bellwether” case, which means it presents a kind of test case for the thousands of similar lawsuits that are currently pending. As of today, the stock for these social-media addiction cases just went way up. This will have a predictable effect on settlement negotiations.
To make matters worse, Meta just got slammed Tuesday for $375 million in a case brought by the New Mexico attorney general.