The Social Media Addiction Trial
Newscast
BBC
4.3 • 6.6K Ratings
🗓️ 26 March 2026
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today, Meta and Google lose landmark social media addiction trial in the US.
Jurors found that Meta, which owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, and Google, owner of YouTube, intentionally built addictive social media platforms that harmed a 20-year old's mental health.
The woman, known as Kaley, was awarded $6m (£4.5m) in damages, a result likely to have implications for hundreds of similar cases now winding their way through US courts. Meta and Google said they disagreed with the verdict and intended to appeal. Adam is joined by BBC technology editor Zoe Kleinman and Faisal Islam Economics Editor.
Apply for tickets to Castfest here https://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/shows/castfest-2026
You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscord
Get in touch with Newscast by emailing newscast@bbc.co.uk or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.
New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenter was Adam Fleming. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Shiler Mahmoudi. The social producer was Beth Pritchard . The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:05.9 | Hello, just after we'd published the previous episode of Newscast on Wednesday, there was a massive |
| 0:10.6 | news story broke in California, the west coast of the USA, where a jury found that Meta, |
| 0:17.4 | the parent company of Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook, and Google, or at least the part of Google that's responsible for YouTube, had created social media platforms that were addictive and had harmed the mental health of one American female user who's now in her 20s. |
| 0:35.2 | And this has got people asking if this is a watershed moment for the regulation and the business model of social media. |
| 0:43.4 | With, of course, the big caveat that actually the regulation of these platforms in the UK and in Europe is different from America. |
| 0:48.9 | So we thought we would spend the whole of this episode of newscast chewing over the implications of this court case with the BBC's technology editor, Zoe Kleinman, and Faisal Islam, our economics editor. So that is |
| 0:59.5 | what you'll hear on this episode of Newscast. Newscast from the BBC. Fat boy sliver me |
| 1:05.2 | in the classroom doing our violin lessons. I was the tattle tail in the class. |
| 1:08.6 | Can I have an apology, please? I trust almost nobody. Then daddy has to sometimes do strong language. Next time in Moscow. I feel delulu with no salulu. Take me down to Downey Street. Let's go have a tour. Blimey. Hello, it's Adam in the newscast studio. And joining us here in person. I think actually for the first time ever |
| 1:28.0 | is our technology editor, Zoe Kleinman. Hello, Zoe. Thank you for having me. Welcome to the fake living room. I've never been in before. It's lovely. Although we've been on newscast hundreds of times. I have, but never in the same room. And perhaps never with such a landmark court case to discuss. Indeed. |
| 1:42.8 | We'll see. |
| 1:43.4 | And Faisal is here too. |
| 1:44.3 | Hello, Faisal. |
| 1:44.8 | Hello. |
| 1:45.4 | Right. |
| 1:45.8 | So, Zoe, this verdict was in Perhaps never with such a landmark court case to discuss. Indeed. We'll see. And Faisal is here too. |
| 1:44.3 | Hello, Faisal. |
| 1:44.8 | Hello. |
| 1:45.4 | Right. |
| 1:45.8 | So, Zoe, this verdict was in a court in California. It happened on Wednesday. Take us back to sort of the start of this case. And who brought it and why? And why was it in court in the first place? At the heart of this case is a woman who is now 20 years old |
| 2:02.2 | who is being 20 years old, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.