A Los Angeles jury has delivered a landmark verdict: Meta and YouTube were negligent in the design and operation of their platforms, causing a young woman known in court documents as Kaley, or KGM, to become addicted to social media.

The tech giants must now pay her a total of US$6 million in damages – $3 million compensatory and $3 million punitive.

She claimed the platforms’ design features got her addicted to the technology and exacerbated her depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia and suicidal thoughts.

The jury found that Meta bore 70% of the responsibility and YouTube 30%, meaning Meta will pay $4.2 million and Google’s YouTube $1.8 million. Both companies have said they will appeal.

The verdict came a day after a separate New Mexico jury ordered Meta to pay US$375 million for failing to protect children from predators on Instagram and Facebook.

Kaley filed her lawsuit in 2023, when she was 17. She claimed that she began using social media as a young child and alleged that features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, algorithmically timed notifications and beauty filters were addictive.

TikTok and Snap were originally named as defendants but settled before the trial began for undisclosed sums. Meta and YouTube proceeded to a seven-week trial in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The case is the first of three bellwether trials scheduled in the California state proceedings – test cases selected to gauge how juries respond to the core legal arguments – drawn from a pool of more than 1,600 plaintiffs, including over 350 families and 250 school districts.

The outcome of this first trial was always likely to have consequences far beyond one young woman’s case.

Bypassing big tech’s legal shield

The legal strategy that made this trial possible was a deliberate departure from previous attempts to sue social media companies. Historically, platforms have been shielded by Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which protects internet companies from liability for content posted by their users.

The plaintiff’s lawyers sidestepped this entirely by arguing that the harm arose not from what users posted, but from how the platforms were engineered – treating Instagram and YouTube as defective products rather than neutral publishers.

The jury heard internal Meta documents that proved damaging. One memo read: “If we wanna win big with teens, we must bring them in as tweens.” Another showed that 11-year-olds were four times as likely to keep returning to Instagram compared with competing apps, despite the platform’s own minimum age requirement of 13.

A former Meta engineering director turned whistleblower, Arturo Béjar, testified about how features like infinite scroll exploit the brain’s reward system. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg himself took the stand – his first jury testimony on child safety – and was questioned about his decision to retain beauty filters despite internal research flagging their impact on young girls’ body image.

The jury rejected the companies’ central defence: that Kaley’s struggles were primarily the result of a difficult home life and pre-existing conditions rather than platform design.

In finding that the companies had acted with “malice, oppression or fraud”, they opened the door to the additional punitive damages that brought the total to US$6 million.

Both companies will appeal, and the process could take years. In the meantime, a second important trial is scheduled for this summer, and a separate federal case in Oakland involving school districts is also advancing. The pressure on platforms to settle the thousands of remaining cases will grow considerably.

Long-term impact?

For users, the immediate practical picture is less clear. Meta and YouTube are unlikely to make significant changes to their platforms while the appeals process plays out. Any redesign – if it comes – is likely to be incremental and carefully managed to minimise disruption to the engagement model that drives their revenues.

But there is a harder question the verdict does not answer: will it actually change anything? Meta and YouTube are companies worth hundreds of billions of dollars. A US$6 million damages award is not going to restructure the attention- and surveillance-driven economy.

My research on digital overuse – based on in-depth interviews with digital users and studies of online communities discussing digital overuse and detox – shows that even people who are fully aware of the problem and genuinely want to reduce their screen time find it extraordinarily difficult to do so.

This is not because they lack willpower, but because the features driving compulsive use are not bugs in the system. They are the system, built to maximise engagement and advertising revenue.

For years, big tech has placed the burden of managing screen time squarely on individuals and parents – encouraging screen time limits, digital detoxes, and parental controls while continuing to engineer products specifically designed to defeat exactly that kind of self-regulation.

The jury has pushed back against that logic. Whether courts, regulators, and legislators will push hard enough to force genuine structural redesign remains to be seen. However, the European Commission has already made the preliminary finding that TikTok’s addictive design features are in breach of the EU’s Digital Services Act.

What this verdict does, at minimum, is shift the ground. For the first time, a jury has confirmed what researchers have argued for years: this is not a story of weak willpower or bad parenting. It is, at least in part, a story of deliberate product design. That matters – even if the real fight is still to come.

Mickeleate, close to its junction with North Street, has been temporarily closed by City of York Council.

Recommended reading:

Confirming this in a statement, a spokesperson said: “This morning our teams were inspecting Micklegate as part of our routine highways maintenance and discovered a void under the road.

“We’ve had to temporarily close the bottom of Micklegate to vehicles while we investigate, before the issue is fixed.

“Thanks for everyone’s patience while we urgently investigate.”

Pedestrians and cyclists will still be able to use the road, City of York Council has confirmed (Image: City of York Council)

Businesses along the road, the council said, will open as usual tomorrow, with pavements open to pedestrians and mobility aid users.

Cyclists will also be able to use the route, following signed diversions set up today.

There are mixed emotions ahead as a huge Emmerdale favourite heads off for a new life.

Tracy Shankley (Amy Walsh) gears up to whisk daughter Frankie away for a fresh start when an opportunity presents itself.

Actress Amy Walsh has left the soap to head off and have a baby, which means Tracy has to disappear, at least for a bit. And there comes the fresh start.

Lately, Tracy has been behaving hecking suspiciously in having weird and secretive phone calls – ditching her post in the shop to take a call with a friend, and completely ignoring Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler) in the pub while furiously typing on her phone. There’s something afoot.

Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick) gets wind of this impending change and confronts Tracy when she learns that she plans to move house.

After the year she’s had, it’s no wonder Tracy wants a fresh start. Husband Nate seemed to disappear of the face of the Earth in 2024 when he took up a job in Shetland and cut contact.

Then his body was discovered in the lake.

Then Tracy was accused of his murder after evidence was planted in her house and her own sister wouldn’t provide her with an alibi.

Then it transpired that mad medic John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) had accidentally killed him.

That’s a lot for anyone to process in the space of a year or so.

Tracy has had to navigate life a single, grieving mum who for a time was even estranged from daughter Frankie’s family and any kind of support. So now things are coming back around and she’s focusing back on herself. Good for her, sad for us.

She’s packing up her and Frankie’s lives and heading out of the village, but with everything going on with Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley), it looks like he might miss his granddaughter’s farewell. Will cancer-suffering Cain be dealt yet another blow by missing their final goodbye?

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Amy Walsh announced the birth of her baby girl on March 23.

The adorable picture she shared on her Instagram is of the little baby’s feet. In the caption, Amy announced to her followers that her daughter was actually born last week.

She wrote: ‘This time last week I was heading into established labour.

‘We’ve been in the most magical bubble ever since.’

MORE: EastEnders star’s ‘heart has doubled’ after welcoming baby with Amy Walsh

MORE: Emmerdale’s Amy Walsh welcomes second baby with EastEnders star husband and shares adorable picture

MORE: All the Emmerdale cast returns, exits and new arrivals in 2026

After an encouraging first half, Michael O’Neill’s men ran out of steam and Sandro Tonali and Moise Kean scored to book their place in a play-off final next Tuesday

It was a disappointing night for Northern Ireland in Bergamo as two second half goals killed off their chances of reaching the World Cup.

After an encouraging first half, Michael O’Neill’s men ran out of steam and Sandro Tonali and Moise Kean scored to book their place in a play-off final next Tuesday.

Here is how the Nothern Ireland players rated in Bergamo:

Pierce Charles 7 – Made a series of fine saves but was powerless to keep out Tonali’s hammer blow.

Trai Hume 8 – A rugged and clever performance from the Northern Ireland captain on the night.

Paddy McNair 7 – As assured as always, using his experience to rally his younger colleagues throughout.

Ruairi McConville 6 – Big night for the 20-year-old and he mostly stood his ground, only to get done for the second goal.

Terry Devlin 5 – Had a tough time up against Dimarco. Will have better nights in a Northern Ireland shirt.

Shea Charles 7 – Played some tidy stuff when he could, dug in with a lot of heart when he couldn’t.

Ethan Galbraith 6 – His normally reliable radar was off, coughing up possession a little too easily at times.

Justin Devenney 6 – Did the hard yards all night and used his left foot to effect when the situation allowed.

Brodie Spencer 6 – Safe and secure as he mostly shut down the left side of the pitch.

Isaac Price 4 – Struggled to get into the game. Did little with whatever ball came his way.

Jamie Donley 6- A thankless task as he hared around trying to unsettle the Italian defence with limited service.

Subs: Paul Smyth 6 (68) for Devlin, Jamie Reid 6 (79) for Spencer, Josh Magennis 6 (79) for Donley,

G Donnarumma 7, R Calafiori 7, N Bastoni 6 (F Gatti 7, 63), G Mancini 7, F Dimarco 7, S Tonali 7, M Locatelli 7, N Barella 7, M Politano 6 (M Palestra 6, 83), M Retegui 5 P Esposito 7, M Kean 8 (Raspadori 6, 88)

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Former Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen kicked a reporter out of a press conference ahead of Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver, 28, refused to speak to journalists at the media session until The Guardian’s Giles Richards left the room.

Verstappen said: “One second, I’m not speaking before he’s leaving.”

The four-time world champion’s refusal dates back to a question he was asked following the 2025 F1 season finale in Abu Dhabi.

Back then, Mr Richards had asked the Dutchman about a collision with Mercedes driver George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix on 1 June last year.

The collision led to a 10-second penalty that knocked Verstappen down five places, costing him points.

Hitting back at the question at the time, Verstappen said: “You forget all the other stuff that happened in ⁠my season.

“The only thing you mention is Barcelona. I knew that [question] would come. You’re giving me a stupid grin now.

“I don’t ‌know. Yeah, it’s part of racing at the end. You live and learn. The championship is one of 24 rounds. I’ve also had a lot of ‌early Christmas presents given to me in the second half, so you can also question that.”

In Suzuka, Japan, on Thursday, after Verstappen asked him to leave, Mr Richards replied “seriously?”.

Verstappen replied: “Yeah.”

Mr Richards then asked: “Because of the question last year?”

Verstappen then answered “yeah”, before Mr Richards walked towards the driver’s table to collect his dictaphone.

Mr Richards then said: “It’s because of the question I asked you in Abu Dhabi?”

After a further exchange, Mr Richards asked: “You’re really, really upset about it?”

Verstappen said: “Get out, get out! Now we can start.”

What the reporter said about ‘smiling’ Verstappen

Writing about the exchange in The Guardian, Mr Richards said: “In the ​course of a brief 30-second exchange, he told me to ‘get out’, twice. ​I have never been asked to leave a press conference.”

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He added: “Marching orders received, I duly departed. Verstappen had been smiling throughout the exchange. The day carried on; there are far more serious issues in the world than an F1 driver being cross with you.”

Colleagues were “universally shocked” by the incident, he added.

Recent reports have suggested that Sandro Tonali would be expected to leave Newcastle United if they failed to qualify for European football

Newcastle United’s rivals may have been put on alert after an update on Sandro Tonali, with reports suggesting the Italian could be allowed to leave Tyneside if the club fail to qualify for Europe. However, those claims have now been dismissed by Chronicle Live, who report that club officials insist any suggestion of such an agreement is ‘totally untrue.’

Tonali’s future has been the subject of speculation ahead of the summer, with reports linking him with moves to Manchester United and Arsenal. Fresh claims suggest United are preparing a bid, though Tonali remains under contract until 2028, meaning Newcastle are in a strong position to demand whatever fee they like.

It’s understood, however, that Tonali has no release clauses or agreements in his current deal with the club. Comments from his agent, Giuseppe Riso about his client’s prospects fuelled speculation.

READ MORE: Newcastle CEO’s private video message after stinging Sunderland defeat ‘leaked’READ MORE: Newcastle’s ‘harder and harder’ PSR excuse falls foul after £125m transfer mishap

Earlier this month, Riso said: “Tthat was the goal from the moment he went to England – to try to make him a star player.

“I think he’s the Italian footballer with one of the highest values in the world.

“If he shines at the World Cup, will Man City or Arsenal be hot on his heels? I don’t know, but it’s very likely.

“Everyone is waiting for the World Cup; then a thousand scenarios will unfold, but it all kicks off after the World Cup.”

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Meanwhile, Newcastle boss Eddie Howe shot the rumour down last week, saying: “The person that matters the most is Sandro. All I’ve ever seen from him is someone who is totally committed.

“Very selfless at times, he’s here for the team, not for himself. Forget the noise around him, he’s just fully committed.”

Elsewhere, Tonali’s teammate Bruno Guimaraes has also attracted interest from United, with Howe describing claims that the Brazilian is in ‘advanced talks’ with the club as ‘disrespectful.’

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Oil depots spewing black smoke. Debris sinking in the Persian Gulf. Missiles pounding military sites.

The Iran war has unleashed a toxic mix of chemicals, heavy metals and other pollutants that threaten everything from agriculture to drinking water to people’s health — and will leave behind environmental damage and health risks that could persist for decades, experts said.

“All the burning of oil and gas fields in the coastal areas, all the ships that are there, the oil tankers that are being burned or (sunk) — all of these mean pollution,” said Kaveh Madani, an Iranian scientist and director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health. “For someone like me who has fought for sustainability and protection of the environment in that region, this is like going many years backward.”

Documenting the damage has proved daunting, with a full accounting impossible for now, said Doug Weir, director of the Conflict and Environment Observatory, a U.K.-based nonprofit that monitors environmental harms from armed conflicts.

The group uses remote satellite sensing and open-source intelligence to identify damage and score environmental risks to people, ecosystems and agricultural land. So far, it has recorded more than 400 environmentally concerning incidents related to the war, though much is still unknown due to delays in satellite imagery and an internet blackout in Iran, Weir said.

Attacks on oil- and gas-related sites create some of the worst environmental risks because of impacts to air quality and soil and water pollution, as well as health threats to people. Harder to quantify are risks from bombed military sites, some of which are deeply buried and some near populated areas, adding to “huge uncertainties” around potential impacts, Weir said.

The air pollution unleashed could lead to many health problems

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Perhaps the most enduring images of the war are of darkened skies from oil infrastructure set ablaze by airstrikes, including two weeks ago when black rain fell near Tehran, Iran’s capital.

Soot, ash and toxic chemicals from strikes on fuel depots and a refinery combined with water droplets in the atmosphere and fell back to Earth as an oily, acidic rain that prompted warnings to stay indoors. Microscopic soot raises risks of lung and heart problems, while toxic chemicals pose long-term cancer risks and heavy metals from the fallout could contaminate soil and water supplies, experts said.

Debris and contamination from missiles, as well as potential strikes on manufacturing facilities and other infrastructure also could unleash harmful pollution throughout the region, experts said.

“If you hit an ammonia-producing plant for fertilizer or for food production … those release chemicals that are absolutely toxic and harmful if they spread,” said Mohammed Mahmoud, head of Middle East Climate and Water Policy with the United Nations University Institute of Water, Environment and Health and founder of the Climate and Water Initiative.

Intensive fossil fuel emissions also are spiking levels of greenhouse gases that cause climate change, experts said. The carbon accounting platform Greenly estimated that the U.S. military alone released almost 2 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases in just the first six days of the war, meaning the actual amount generated by the fighting is certainly much higher, when accounting for Israeli and Iranian emissions and damage to infrastructure.

That is a significant amount in such a short time, as in an entire year around 50 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases are released around the entire world, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Global oil shortages also are causing some countries to resume or increase their use of coal, which creates more air pollution that hurts people, and more greenhouse gas emissions.

Continued access to clean water is a big concern

Countries in the arid Persian Gulf region rely on hundreds of desalination plants for drinking water, raising health and security risks if plants are damaged or water is polluted, experts say.

Iran has said a U.S airstrike damaged one of its desalination plants, while neighboring Bahrain accused Iran of damaging one of its plants. Experts fear more could be targeted the longer the war goes on.

People in the region “struggle with having access to clean drinking water, even at peace times,” said Madani, the Iranian scientist and U.N. official. “Any damage to water infrastructure can have long-lasting impacts.”

Weir worries that pollution, including oil, from sunken ships and other sources could clog desalination plants or that they could be knocked offline by attacks on power plants.

Experts say pollution also could damage fisheries and important ecosystems. Though some contaminants will be dispersed and diluted by water that moves through the gulf, heavy metals and toxic chemicals still could settle in sediment.

“It’s an enclosed basin, quite shallow,” Weir said. “There are sensitive habitats there, coral reefs, seagrass meadows, sensitive species which could be impacted.”

Nuclear risks are largely unknown

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The rapper gave a shout-out to London as he accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award at Co-op Live

Slick Rick has accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s MOBO Awards at Co-op Live.

MOBO founder Kanya King CBE took to the stage to present the award to the British-American rapper and producer, saying Slick Rick redefined what it means to tell stories through music. Past winners of the converted award include Nile Rodgers, Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie.

The MOBOs founder said: “Thank you all for being here to celebrate this milestone MOBO. I feel so blessed to be standing here introducing the new honour. Ricky Walters, better known as Slick Rick.

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“He redefined what it meant to tell stories through music. But what makes his story more powerful is not only what he created but what he overcame.”

She added: “True greatness finds a way. From the very beginning he brought a star swagger unlike anything we’ve heard before.”

Slick Rick himself took to the stage to accept the award. He said: “I don’t say much, but I’ve said enough to be here. I’ve never needed a lot of words, only the right ones. There were moments people didn’t understand, but I just kept going. Every step brought me to this moment.”

He continued: “I’ve always believed if you stay honest and true, the world will meet you there. And tonight it has. This is victory. Quiet, steady, undeniably timeless. Thank you.”

The 61-year-old rapper went on to shout out his mum and dad, Jamaicans, and his wife among other names. He also gave a shout-out to his hometown London.

The MOBOs event is taking place in Manchester for the very first time this evening as it celebrates its 30th year.

Hosted by comedian Eddie Kadi and rapper Eve, the awards ceremony is playing host to a huge array of stars. These include Manchester’s own Aitch, alongside others such as Flo, Myles Smith, Tiwa Savage, Shenseea, and Slick Rick and Estelle.

The event began at 8pm, with stars including Olivia Dean, Tallia Storm, Zeze Mills and Ella Thomas pictured on the red carpet as it opened in the hours beforehand.

And before this evening’s show, a host of stars made the journey to Manchester on the ‘MOBO VIP’ train – arriving at Piccadilly in the morning.

Music festivals and big events using council owned sites could have a drug testing facility

A pilot for drug and pill testing facilities at major events in Belfast is to be considered.

A motion by Alliance and the Greens has passed the first hurdle at Belfast City Council this week, and will go to committee level for officials potentially to create a feasibility study.

The motion asks that any music festivals and large-scale events using council owned sites will have drug testing and harm reduction facilities in place.

READ MORE: DUP puberty blocker motion described as ‘grotesque’ at Belfast City Hall

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It was tabled at the City Hall Standards and Business Committee meeting this week, by Alliance Councillor Micky Murray, and seconded by Green Councillor Brian Smyth.

The motion calls on public bodies including Public Health Agency and Belfast Trust, alongside those in the community and voluntary sector, to explore the feasibility of a pilot. It also requests an internal report on the potential role of the council in supporting and facilitating a service, with particular reference to legal and regulatory considerations.

The motion states: “This council supports harm reduction approaches to drug use, particularly in the context of festivals and nightlife events. It acknowledges the rising public concerns around drug-related harm, and notes that traditional approaches focused solely on enforcement have not eliminated the presence or use of illicit substances at major events.”

The motion will go to the People and Communities Committee in April for a decision.

Councillor Murray said: “Belfast is a vibrant, growing city with a thriving events and nightlife scene that we should be proud of. However, we cannot ignore the very real and increasing risks associated with drug-related harm at large gatherings.

“This motion is rooted in a simple principle, saving lives. Evidence from other regions shows that harm reduction approaches, including drug checking services, can play a crucial role in preventing overdoses and reducing the risk of serious harm.

“While enforcement remains important, it has not eliminated the presence of illicit substances at major events. In conjunction, we need a more balanced, public health-led response.”

He said: “Drug testing services provide individuals with information about what they are taking, helping them make safer decisions. Crucially, these services also allow health authorities to identify dangerous or contaminated substances quickly and issue public warnings.

“This is about taking a pragmatic, evidence-based approach to public safety. By working collaboratively with health professionals, community organisations, and event organisers, Belfast can take a leadership role in protecting people and reducing preventable harm.

“I look forward to progressing this conversation and ensuring that Belfast remains a safe and welcoming city for everyone.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s photo voter identification law was upheld on Thursday, as a federal judge set aside arguments by civil rights groups that Republicans enacted the requirement with discriminatory intent against Black and Latino voters.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Loretta Biggs is a huge legal victory for Republican legislative leaders who passed the law in late 2018 — weeks after voters approved a constitutional amendment backing the idea.

North Carolina state Senate leader Phil Berger said in a news release that with Biggs’ decision, “we can put to rest any doubt that our state’s Voter I.D. law is constitutional.”

Biggs had presided in spring 2024 over a non-jury trial in a lawsuit filed by the state NAACP, which argued that the ID requirement violated the U.S. Constitution and the federal Voting Rights Act. At trial, the NAACP alleged Republican legislators passed the voter ID law to entrench their political power by discouraging people historically aligned with Democrats from voting.

But lawyers for the state and Republican lawmakers defending the law argued that Republicans wouldn’t have passed one of the most permissive ID laws if they wanted to entrench themselves in state politics. They argued that the law is race-neutral and contains many more categories of qualifying ID than was allowed under a previously approved 2013 voter ID law that was struck down years ago.

The lawyers also said the General Assembly had legitimate state interests in building voter confidence in elections and preventing voter fraud. Still, nationwide voter identity fraud is rare.

State NAACP President Deborah Dicks Maxwell called the latest ruling in the case “deeply disappointing and ignores the real and documented barriers” that voter ID laws have on certain voters. No decision has been made on whether to appeal.

Even with the federal litigation, the 2018 voter ID law has been carried out since the 2023 municipal elections, after the state Supreme Court upheld the law in a separate lawsuit. Those elections have included the March 3 primary — nearly all of its results were certified on Wednesday.

In her 134-page order, Biggs, who was nominated to the court by President Barack Obama, said evidence in the trial record did suggest the burden to obtain IDs fell more on Black and Hispanic voters. As a result, a disparate number of racial minority voters would be among thousands who will not possess the required ID on Election Day, and “for many their vote will not count when the election is certified.”

Biggs said the state’s history of race discrimination and voter suppression warrants finding that the law was enacted with discriminatory intent. But she wrote that court rulings since the lawsuit was filed — including one from a federal appeals court panel in the case — requires “this Court to assign less weight to the historical background” and “almost impenetrable deference to the presumption” that lawmakers approved it in good faith.

Biggs had previously issued in 2019 a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the 2018 law, saying it was tainted because the 2013 voter ID law was struck down on similar grounds of racial bias.

But the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed her decision, writing that she had put too much emphasis on the past conduct of the General Assembly when evaluating the 2018 law.

So based on the “preliminary injunction record, the limited evidence presented at trial, and the arguments of counsel,” the court “concludes that it is compelled by controlling case law” to side with the state and legislative leaders, Biggs wrote Thursday.

North Carolina’s voter ID law offers free ID cars at the Division of Motor Vehicles and at county election offices statewide. People lacking photo ID at the polls should have their votes count if they fill out an exception form or bring in their ID to election officials before the final tallies.

In the separate state court lawsuit, the 2018 law was struck down initially. But when the state Supreme Court flipped from a Democratic to a Republican majority, the justices agreed to revisit the matter and proceeded to uphold photo ID.

Thirty-six states have laws requesting or requiring identification at the polls, 23 of which seek photo ID, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.