From content immunity to design accountability: youth social media addiction litigation after the Meta and YouTube negligence verdict

<p>This paper examines how recent youth social media addiction litigation, centered on the 2026 Meta and YouTube verdict, reframes harm as a problem of negligent design rather than third-party content. Using doctrinal legal analysis and policy synthesis, it argues that addictive-design and failure-to-warn claims may narrow Section 230’s practical reach, reshape understandings of duty and foreseeability, and support safety-by-design regulation. The paper positions youth litigation as a site for rethinking platform accountability in communication law.</p>