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Jurors in a bombshell social media addiction trial are struggling to reach a unanimous decision — raising the specter of a full do-over in a case that could send shockwaves through Silicon Valley.
The panel is weighing claims against tech giants Google and Meta — but jurors did not say which company is causing the deadlock.
Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl urged them to keep pushing.
She said the jury should reach a verdict if it can, warning the case will have to be retried with a new set of jurors if it cannot reach an agreement.
The high-stakes panel has already been deliberating for more than a week in the closely watched Los Angeles trial — one that could shape thousands of similar lawsuits filed by parents, attorneys general and school districts across the country.
At the heart of the case is a now 20-year-old woman, identified only as KGM, who claims she became hooked on YouTube and Instagram as a child — with devastating consequences.
Taking the stand in late February, she painted a harrowing picture of a childhood consumed by screens, telling jurors she started using social media as young as 6 and quickly became dependent.
Her lawyers argue that addiction spiraled into years of anxiety, depression and body dysmorphia.
“I would just get really upset and sad and feel like I wasn’t worthy I guess,” she testified, describing the crushing blow of posts that failed to rack up likes, comments or subscribers.
The emotional testimony was so intense that one female alternate juror was seen wiping away tears in the courtroom.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged in February that enforcing age restrictions on Instagram is difficult.
Still, the company is pushing back hard.
“The question for the jury in Los Angeles is whether Instagram was a substantial factor in the plaintiff’s mental health struggles. The evidence will show she faced many significant, difficult challenges well before she ever used social media,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.
Meanwhile, two other platforms originally caught up in the lawsuit — TikTok and Snapchat — quietly settled with the plaintiff just before trial. The terms remain under wraps.
Now, with jurors at an impasse, the explosive case hangs in the balance — and a mistrial could force everyone back to square one.
English (US)