The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been open with their criticisms about the dangers of social media

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have hailed a victory for parents following a landmark social media trial, which saw Meta and Google being found liable for a woman’s social media addiction.

The jury in Los Angeles found that Instagram, owned by Meta, and YouTube, owned by Google, were responsible for harming the anonymous plaintiff, awarding her $6million in damages.

Meta and Google said they “disagree” with the verdict and both “plan to appeal”.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been openly commenting about the case, both speaking out about the dangers of social media.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle hail ‘victory for parents’ following landmark social media trial | REUTERS

Harry and Meghan’s website released a statement following the conclusion of the jury trial, describing it as “parents win over platforms”.

Part of the statement said: “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.

“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.”

The trial has been seen as a bellwether decision

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The Duke and Duchess’s website noted the dangers of the “products, design choices and business models,” describing them as being “weaponised in ways that shaped how young people live, learn, and connect”.

It described the decision as “stunning”, adding: “The jury concluded that their actions were carried out with malice, oppression, or fraud.

“In other words: This wasn’t an accident. It was a choice.

“This verdict is a bellwether – a social media warning label for the world. For the first time, a jury has said, unequivocally, that the way these platforms are designed can cause real harm, and that companies knew it.”

The couple described the jury’s decision as ‘stunning’

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The couple’s Archewell Philanthropies has expressed its gratitude to the families, experts, and advocates who took on the big tech companies.

The trial represents the initial case in a series of landmark legal proceedings against Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Snap.

Lawyers for Meta had argued that while the woman had suffered throughout her life, her use of Instagram did not cause or significantly contribute to her mental struggles.

Meta was found to be 70 per cent responsible for the woman’s harm, while Google registered 30 per cent.

The couple have been open about their criticisms of the dangers of social media

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Punitive damages are still to be determined by the court, which could reach up to $30million.

Matthew Bergman, founding attorney of the Social Media Victims Law Centre, is representing over 1,000 plaintiffs in the case.

According to NBC, he told reporters before the verdict that merely bringing the case to trial was a victory in itself.

He said: “Win or lose the outcome of this trial, victims in the United States have won because now we know that social media companies can and will be held accountable before a fair and impartial jury.”

“And in some cases, plaintiffs will prevail, and in some they may not, but we are just gratified for the opportunity to get this far, and there will be many more trials in the future.”