Featured

Trump: Iran asked me to be Supreme Leader, but I said no thanks

Trump’s “Iran asked me to be Supreme Leader” joke at an NRCC fundraiser uses a real, deadly leadership crisis in Iran to normalize assassination-as-policy and blur what’s confirmed about the war and succession.

Mar 26, 2026

Featured

‘Men need to be perp-walked’ after Epstein files release, Massie tells BBC

A GOP lawmaker says the Epstein document releases are still falling short—because redactions and withheld material may be blocking accountability and survivor-centered justice.

Mar 25, 2026

Buried.News

The stories buried under the noise

Primary focus

Trump fires Kristi Noem as Homeland Security Secretary

A Cabinet secretary was forced out amid contracting and oversight scrutiny, signaling that executive control—not transparent accountability—can dictate leadership of the agency driving mass detention and deportation.

Mar 5, 2026

Featured

The Trump gold coin is not normal : Consider This from NPR

A federal design panel OK’d a Trump portrait for a commemorative gold coin, but the key question is whether Treasury can legally bypass long-standing limits meant to keep living politicians off U.S. money.

Mar 23, 2026

Featured

White House Confronted Over Huge Bets Made Minutes Before Trump’s Big War Move

A $580 million burst of oil-futures selling minutes before Trump’s Iran “talks” post raises a basic public-interest question: did anyone trade on advance knowledge of a market-moving national security decision?

Mar 24, 2026

Meta and YouTube found liable in social media addiction trial

A Los Angeles jury’s finding that Meta and YouTube helped drive a child’s compulsive use—and awarding punitive damages—signals that “platform design” claims are starting to survive all the way to verdict, not just headlines.

Judiciary

Mar 25, 2026

Sources

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c747x7gz249o

Summary

A Los Angeles jury found Meta and Google (YouTube) liable for harms tied to a young woman’s childhood social media use and awarded her $6m in damages, including punitive damages. The coverage emphasizes “unprecedented” accountability but leaves readers without the legal details needed to judge what, exactly, the jury found and how broadly it applies. The story matters because it strengthens a growing wave of litigation and policymaking that is trying to treat youth-focused product design and safety failures as legal wrongdoing, not just a public-health debate.

Reality Check

This is a jury verdict at the trial-court level, and both companies say they will appeal—so it is not the final word on legal liability for “social media addiction,” but it is a meaningful datapoint because a design-and-harm theory made it through a full trial to a plaintiff win. Be careful with the numbers and labels: different outlets summarize the award differently (some report a $3m total award; the BBC text you provided says $6m with $3m compensatory + $3m punitive), and some stories describe the finding as “negligence” rather than the broader phrasing in the BBC write-up. ([nbcnews.com](https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/verdict-reached-landmark-social-media-addiction-trial-rcna263421))

Detail

On 25 March 2026, a jury in Los Angeles found Meta (Instagram/Facebook/WhatsApp) and Google (YouTube) liable in a lawsuit brought by a 20-year-old plaintiff identified as “Kaley,” who alleged harmful addiction starting in childhood. ([pbs.org](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/instagram-and-youtube-found-liable-in-landmark-social-media-addiction-trial-in-california)) The jury awarded $3m in compensatory damages and $3m in punitive damages after finding the companies acted with “malice, oppression, or fraud,” per the article text. (BBC article text provided by user.) Damages were apportioned 70% to Meta and 30% to Google/YouTube, according to the article text; other reporting also describes the apportionment but sometimes lists different total damages figures. ([nbcnews.com](https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/verdict-reached-landmark-social-media-addiction-trial-rcna263421)) Meta and Google said they disagree with the verdict and plan to appeal, according to the article text. (BBC article text provided by user.) Snap and TikTok were originally defendants but settled with the plaintiff before trial for undisclosed amounts, according to the article text. ([pbs.org](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/instagram-and-youtube-found-liable-in-landmark-social-media-addiction-trial-in-california)) Trial testimony highlighted platform features and youth access issues, including under-13 use despite nominal age rules and design elements alleged to encourage compulsive use (e.g., infinite scroll), per the article text. (BBC article text provided by user.) The BBC piece links the LA verdict to a separate New Mexico jury verdict one day earlier that found Meta liable in a state-led child-safety/deceptive-practices case, with New Mexico officials describing it as a landmark win. ([nmdoj.gov](https://nmdoj.gov/press-release/new-mexico-department-of-justice-wins-landmark-verdict-against-meta/)) More youth-harm litigation is queued: PBS reports a federal bellwether case involving school districts is expected to begin in June in Oakland, California. ([pbs.org](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/landmark-trial-accusing-tech-giants-of-harming-children-with-addictive-social-media-begins))