Algorithms on Trial: Shocks to the Tech Industry
Two juries award $375 million and $6 million in verdicts against tech industry
In a bellwether case, a Los Angeles jury found the companies Meta (Instagram) and Youtube, liable for the mental harm suffered by Kaley G.M., a 20 year old who used the app since the age of six years old. The jury returned a verdict against Meta and Youtube for $3 million in compensatory damages and an additional $3 million for punitive damages. 1
The jury confirmed that the platforms were negligently designed to foster addictive use. Other companies, Snapchat and TikTok settled their portions before the trial began. The plaintiffs sued saying that the company’s product had defects.
A second case that took place one day before on March 24, 2026, in New Mexico a jury awarded $375 Million in a verdict that focused on online predators. The jury found Meta liable for 75,000 violations of the Unfair Practices Act. “Operation Metaphile,” an undercover sting that took place led by New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez, had investigators posed as children under the age of 14. These proxy accounts were immediately flooded with sexually explicit material and solicitations from adults. While the L.A. jury punished the companies for making the apps too addictive to put down, the New Mexico jury punished Meta for creating a ‘marketplace’ for predators—a two-pronged Uranian strike against the current social media status quo.
There are many other cases on-going from hundreds of families, school districts, and state attorneys general who argue that the platforms lead to suicide, eating disorders, and self-harm.
From Click2Houston, KPRC 2 (Associated Press), “ The era of Big Tech invincibility is over,” said Sacha Haworth, executive director of The Tech Oversight Project. “After years of gaslighting from companies like Google and Meta, new evidence and testimony have pulled back the curtain and validated the harms young people and parents have been telling the world about for years.”2
The Astrology Behind the Event: Uranus Delivers the Lightning Bolt
The announcement of the verdict occurred March 25, 2026 at 4:25 pm in Los Angeles, CA. The Sun is conjunct Saturn in Aries, Mars is in Pisces, indicating speaking out for the victims, along with Mercury and the North Node in Pisces. But the most notable feature of this chart is Uranus on the midheaven, Uranus is associated with the discovery of electricity, technological breakthroughs, shock and disruption, as well as revolution.
Compare this to the chart for the first trading of Facebook of May 18, 2012, 11:30 am New York, NY in which we see Facebook’s Sun also at 28 Taurus, the same degree of the transiting Uranus on the MC of the court verdict, so Uranus is making its presence known quite loudly here.
We could also take the chart for the “rebirth” of Facebook into Meta on Oct. 29. 2021, 5:45 am, Hobart, Tasmania and compare that to the verdict event chart. In this chart, transiting Jupiter is on the MC and we see Pluto applying to conjunction with Meta’s Saturn on the cusp of the 5th house relating to children.
This is a long overdue reckoning for the families who have lost children to the darker side of these apps, in particular with regard to increases in suicide and sex trafficking. Parents and teachers, and even law makers have not been equipped to fight the social media giants, but this verdict marks a needed change.
Bottom Up vs. Top Down
This L.A. verdict is an example of “the people” fighting back big business in a “bottom up” approach. There have also been various efforts from governments around the world in creating legislation in a top down approach to the problem. In a previous post last year, I explored Australia’s Social Media ban for children.
Australia’s move to ban social media for young people has since created a “digital land grab” for regulation in other nations. France, Spain, Norway, Denmark and the UK are looking to get social media bans or age-verifying features in place. But, the real danger here is lurking in the shadows. The bottom line is that these apps are not simply going to go away. Teens are not suddenly abstaining from the internet. As teens move off of mainstream apps, they are popping up in new, less-regulated apps like Yope or Lemon8, or using VPN to hide locations. Reports show a 251% surge in downloads of these less-regulated apps.
So how it is going in these places that have bans? While some parents report an improvement with in-person interactions since the ban, 25% of parents report children felt more isolated or that they lost their peer support networks.3
From Rules to Digital Sovereignty
This verdict signals a bottom up revolution in digital sovereignty. Parents have had enough! Parents would not let a stranger into their child’s bedroom to whisper in their ear all night, we should not feel obligated to let an algorithm do the same.
While lawmakers and tech companies can do far better to protect children, caregiving adults including doctors, counselors, teachers, and parents may need to continue to be much more proactive in teaching their children about online safety. Parents and kids need to know the serious damage that excessive social media use can cause to mental and social health. Just as a responsible parent might put a late night curfew on a teen, or limit the amount of candy or soft drinks a younger child consumes, there is perhaps more cushion and protection we can provide if we simply turn off the household wifi at night or collect the cellphones before saying goodnight. Truly, we are still living through “the wild west” phase of the internet on a global scale.
As I continue to study the biographies and charts of famous suicides and the transits of the teen years, I am finding these recent developments particularly relevant, as these platforms have had such an enormous influence on GenZ and Gen Alpha. As we move further into 2026, this verdict may only be the first of many to come, and may represent a “Changing of the Guard” in Silicon Valley.
Practical Steps for Parents Claiming Digital Sovereignty
Sacred Sleep: Turn off wifi at night or collect phones and other devices from children before saying goodnight to preserve the sanctity of sleep
Analog Alarms: Use a real alarm clock instead of a phone to prevent the first dopamine hit of the day
Tech-free Table: Reclaim the family dinner table as a “no phone” zone
Take advantage of the many new parental control apps available
https://www.spencer-law.com/post/social-media-addiction-lawsuits-2026-kgm-trial-mdl-3047#:~:text=TikTok%20and%20Snapchat%20settled%20their,district%20claims%20are%20pending%20nationwide
https://www.click2houston.com/business/2026/03/26/as-juries-turn-against-social-media-for-harming-kids-big-techs-invincibility-starts-to-show-cracks/#:~:text=For%20years%2C%20parents%2C%20teenagers%2C,two%20states%20took%20their%20side
https://www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/news/australia-social-media-ban-results-b2944582.html