A Los Angeles jury recently found Meta and Google guilty of designing harmful social media platforms that encourage addictive behaviour in users.
The jury found Meta liable for $4.2 million in damages and Google for $1.8 million, and it's expected this case will inspire similar legal cases.
Senior public health researcher at UOA, Dr Samantha Marsh, says this is a historic moment for social media.
"This is the first time that they've actually been taken to court, they've been found liable for their product. Up until now, it's just been about what people post on their platforms and they can't be held responsible for that. But this kind of changes everything."
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive