Is this social media's tobacco moment?

Is this social media's tobacco moment?

From Unhedged by Financial Times & Pushkin Industries

March 31, 2026 · 20 min

About this episode

The episode discusses a recent court ruling against Meta and Google regarding the addictive nature of their social media products aimed at children.

A jury in a Los Angeles court has found Meta and Google liable for $6m in damages in a civil suit alleging their social media products are designed to be addictive to children. It could pave the way for thousands of similar suits. Today on the show, technology reporter Hannah Murphy joins Robert Armstrong and Katie Martin to discuss what the verdict means. Also, they go long cold brews and long a Netflix documentary about America's Next Top Model .  Check out the FT News Briefing podcast on FT.com or on Acast , Apple Podcasts , Pocket Casts or Spotify . For a free 30-day trial to the Unhedged newsletter go to: https://www.ft.com/unhedgedoffer . You can email Robert Armstrong and Katie Martin at unhedged@ft.com . Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Hosts: Robert Armstrong, Katie Martin

Guest: Hannah Murphy

Topics covered

  • social media
  • addiction
  • legal issues
  • technology
  • children's safety

Keywords

  • Meta
  • Google
  • social media
  • addiction
  • lawsuit
  • children
  • Hannah Murphy
  • Robert Armstrong
  • Katie Martin

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Meta, Google, FT News Briefing, Unhedged

Books & works: America's Next Top Model

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