Meta and Alphabet’s Verdict Turns Social Media Tide: Dave Lee

When it comes to punishments levied against Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google over the years, $6 million for claims that their apps were addictive and caused a mental health crisis might not seem like much. The amount, which a Los Angeles jury on Wednesday ordered to be paid to a 20-year-old woman known as Kaley G.M., is a mere pittance when compared with a $5 billion fine from the Federal Trade Commission for Meta or a $3.5 billion penalty for Google from the European Union.

But that would be the wrong way to look at this pivotal moment in big tech ...