Prince Harry and Meghan Markle applauded the verdict in the landmark social media addiction case against Meta and YouTube as “a reckoning.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who’ve been active online safety advocates through their foundation, Archewell Philanthropies, issued a statement after a Los Angeles jury found Meta and Google-owned YouTube liable for the effect that their platforms, namely Instagram and YouTube, had on a woman’s mental health.
“This verdict is a reckoning,” the couple said in a statement to media. “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.”
The 20-year-old California plaintiff, identified as Kaley G.M, alleged that Instagram and YouTube got her hooked on their products as a minor and caused mental health issues, including depressive episodes and suicidal thoughts. She sued four social media companies in 2023, though she settled with TikTok and Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, in January for undisclosed terms.
Following the verdict, the jury ordered the companies to pay the plaintiff $3 million in compensatory damages and $6 million in punitive damages, with Meta responsible for 70% and YouTube 30%. As we previously reported, the bellwether case was the first of a consolidated group of cases that involve more than 1,600 plaintiffs.
The duke and duchess expanded on their statement with a note posted to their official website, where they also shouted out a similar lawsuit in New Mexico, where a jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million in a child safety case.
“Today’s verdict in Los Angeles and yesterday’s ruling in New Mexico are landmark victories for families, advocates and young people everywhere—and a powerful message that justice has caught up to Big Tech,” Prince Harry and Meghan added. “After years of denial and deflection, a jury has confirmed what parents and experts have said all along: the harm isn’t in parenting, it’s in product design. The systems driving our social media platforms have been built to exploit, not protect, and accountability has finally arrived.”
In February, Prince Harry met with grieving families that lost children whose deaths were tied to social media, telling the group, “Thank you for doing everything that you’ve done. Thank you for telling your stories over and over again. Truth, justice and accountability — those are the three things that will come from this.”
'None of you should be here'
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) February 12, 2026
Prince Harry has joined British families in Los Angeles, who say their children died after using social media, as a landmark court case in the United State accused Instagram and You Tube of creating "addiction machines"https://t.co/ZlTln0bkeZ pic.twitter.com/bjN8o7sOYt
The fight isn’t over, however, as Meta noted that they are “evaluating our legal options” in response to the ruling. “We respectfully disagree with the verdict,” a Meta spokesperson said. “Teen mental health is profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app.”
Additionally, a Google spokesperson shared, “This case misunderstands YouTube, which is a responsibly built streaming platform, not a social media.”
